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| Founded | 1997 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 2011 (merged into National Airways Corporation) | ||||||
| Operating bases | Wonderboom Airport | ||||||
| Headquarters | Pretoria, South Africa | ||||||
| Website | naturelink.co.za (defunct) | ||||||
Naturelink Aviation, also known as Naturelink Charter,[ citation needed ] was an airline from South Africa, which offered corporate and private charter flights, as well as worldwide aircraft lease services. The company was based at Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria. [1]
Naturelink Aviation was founded in 1997 by Chris Briers. In mid-2004, 60 percent of the shares were acquired by Safair, through Imperial Holdings. [2] As Naturelink operated charter flights to possibly unsafe regions like Iraq or Afghanistan, the company participated in the testing of CAMPS , a countermeasure against portable anti-aircraft missiles developed by Saab. [3]
In September 2008, Naturelink was purchased by Runway Assets Management. [2] Another change of ownership happened in 2010 through the acquisition by National Airways Corporation. Subsequently, Naturelink's fleet and operations were gradually merged into the Lanseria-based company. [4] By mid-2011, this transition had been completed, and the Naturelink brand was shut down.
The fleet of eight Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia [ citation needed ] that formed the backbone of the Naturelink fleet were transferred to National Airways upon takeover. [4] Over the years, Naturelink also operated the larger aircraft types Boeing 727, 737-200, Douglas DC-3 and DC-9, [2] as well as smaller airplanes like Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante, [5] Cessna 208, PAC 750XL or Socata TBM. [6]
