ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos (TAB for short) is a state-owned Bolivian cargo carrier under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence, based in La Paz and international base at Viru Viru Airport.

History
TAB was placed on the 7. Launched in November 1977 as a public company under autonomous management after a Lockheed C-130 (Hercules) aircraft was acquired in July 1977. From 1978 it began operations, initially limited to national targets. Later, international destinations were also served in Panama and the USA.

In early 1980, a Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules aircraft was purchased, with which a transatlantic flight from Miami to Cyprus was carried out for the first time in 1984. In the 1990s, the transport volume between Bolivia and the USA increased sharply. In 1988, a Lockheed AC-130A was purchased for civilian use.

In the following years, the company was threatened with decline, but with the takeover of power by the Evo Morales government in 2006, it was revived. In 2007, a wide-body aircraft was purchased for the first time with a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, in 2009 another aircraft (DC-10-30F) was added. In the same year, TAB was elevated by legal decree to the rank of a strategic public enterprise of the Bolivian state. It was decided to create six pilot positions. In 2013, a retired but more modern MD-10-30F was added, as of September 2018 the only active aircraft of the TAB.

Benefits
TAB mainly serves the main Bolivian axis between Santa Cruz, La Paz/El Alto and Cochabamba. Almost every kind of goods is transported, including valuables, dangerous goods and live cattle. In the event of disasters such as floods in the lowlands or earthquakes in Peru, relief flights are also provided.
International flights are operated according to needs and orders. More regularly it goes to the USA, Venezuela and Peru. For example, TAB was commissioned in September 2018 to transport 20 tonnes of tungsten to Miami. Charter flights are also offered.

Fleet
As of April 2021, the fleet of Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos consists of an aircraft with an age of 32.8 years:

Former aircraft types
In the past, Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos also used the following types of aircraft:

Douglas DC-8-50
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30

See also:
Official web presence
Further web presence (also in English)

Individual evidence

Cargo carrier
Airline (Bolivia)
Organisation (La Paz)