Aboriginal Air Services

Aboriginal Air Services

IATA ICAO Call sign I8 - -
Founded	2000
Ceased operations	2006
Headquarters	Alice Springs Airport, Australia

Engineless EMB-110 of PY Air at Essendon Airport

Aboriginal Air Services was an umbrella company of 4 distinct airlines owned by the Aboriginal people of central Australia. Four companies (see list below) gradually came together as a consortium over nearly twenty years.[1] The consortium, known as Aboriginal Air Services was fully owned by the Aboriginal people.

In the late 1990s, Aboriginal Air Services offered tourist flights on the mail plane.[2]

The consortium ceased operating on 17 September 2006.[3]

Airlines

• Ngaanyatjarra Air (Western Australia)
• Ngurratjuta Air (Northern Territory, operated by the Ngurajuta Association of Hermannsburg)[4]
• Janami Air (Northern Territory, from the Warlpiri tribe)
• PY Air (South Australia)

Fleet

• Cessna 208 Caravan
• Cessna 210
• Cessna Grand Caravan
• Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante

See also

• List of defunct airlines of Australia
• Aviation in Australia

References

1. Aboriginal Air Services
2. "Outback special delivery". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 14 February 1998. p. 12, S6. Retrieved 19 September 2019 – via newspapers.com.
3. "Aboriginal Air Services to close". The Age. 15 September 2006.
4. D'Alpuget, Blanche (28 January 1989). "Hope springs in Alice". The Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend. Sydney, New South Wales. p. 33. Retrieved 19 September 2019 – via newspapers.com.