Important tourist poster by Guy Georget, commissioned by Air France to promote travel with the airline Air Afrique and published in Paris by the Serma atelier in 1961.
The large poster, designed by Georget with the geometric style and colors typical of African masks, shows the western part of the continent with the A.O.F. in evidence. The A.O.F. was part of the French colonial empire until 1960 and included territories such as the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mauritania, Dahomey (present-day Benin), French Guinea (present-day Guinea), and French Sudan (present-day Mali). At the bottom, an oval insert describes the air routes from the most important African locations to major destinations around the world.
Air Afrique, a pan-African airline, was mainly owned by several West African countries. In 1960, it was restructured as a joint subsidiary of Air France and Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT).
The reorganized entity, registered in September 1960 as Air Afrique (Société de Transports Aériens en Afrique), served as the official international carrier for French-speaking West and Central Africa. This was due to the limited capacity of many of these countries to establish and sustain their own national airlines. The airline was headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Although Air Afrique experienced a gradual decline in the early 1980s, it was still regarded as one of the most reputable airlines in West Africa and even ranked among the top five airlines in Africa for many years. However, mismanagement, corruption, and a downturn in the aviation sector following the September 11, 2001 attacks precipitated a crisis that ultimately led to the airline’s liquidation in early 2002.
