Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (1997–2003) should not be confused with Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (2005–2013).
| Airline: | Lignes Aériennes Congolaises |
| Iata: | 6V |
| Icao: | LCG |
| Callsign: | CONGOLAISE |
| Headquarters: | Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (LAC) (English: '''Congolese Airlines''') was the flag carrier of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in 1997 to succeed the folded Air Zaïre. Halting operations in 1999, it was reactivated for a short period in 2002, only to fold operations permanently in 2003.
The airline was set up in 1997, and started operations the same year. It was a reorganisation of Air Zaïre.[1]
In 1999, a contract with the Belgian carrier City Bird to wet-lease a Boeing 767-300ER was signed. Under this agreement, the airline would serve the Kinshasa–Brussels route, with the Belgian carrier codesharing the service. Although the agreement came into being for a five-year period, it was scrapped in November the same year.
Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (LAC) served the following destinations all through its history:
| City | Airport code | Airport name | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IATA | ICAO | ||||
| Brussels | BRU | EBBR | Brussels Airport | ||
| Kinshasa | FIH | FZAA | N'djili Airport | Hub | |
| Lubumbashi | FBM | FZQA | Lubumbashi International Airport | ||
| Lagos | LOS | DNMM | Murtala Muhammed International Airport | ||
| Johannesburg | JNB | FAJS | OR Tambo International Airport | ||
| Lomé | LFW | DXXX | Lomé-Tokoin Airport | ||
| Harare | HRE | FVHA | Harare International Airport | ||
There was a short-lived agreement between City Bird and LAC to codeshare the Kinshasa–Brussels route, operated by LAC but with City Bird aircraft. Since late 2000, LAC codeshared the Harare–Lubumbashi–Kinshasa route, actually operated by Air Zimbabwe; the same agreement enabled Air Zimbabwe to place its code on the Kinshasa–Brussels service, operated by LAC.
Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises operated the following aircraft all throughout its history:[2]