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Air Centrafrique was the flag carrier of the Central African Republic from 1966 to the late 1970s. The company operated domestic services. It had its headquarters in Bangui.
One DC-3 and one Beech Baron made up the airline's aircraft lineup at . Gaining flag carrier status, the company was renamed Air Centrafrique in mid-1971 following reorganisation after the government attempted to withdraw from the Air Afrique consortium earlier that year.
The launching of Air Centrafrique as an independent airline was one of the moves of the proclaimed Emperor Bokassa I that indebted the country, to the point that banks began to refuse loans to the state in the same year.Titley, E. Brian. Dark Age: The Political Odyssey of Emperor Bokassa. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University press, 2002. p. 69 Following the rupture with Air Afrique, agreements were signed with Zaire, Congo and Chad for Air Centrafrique to fly to those destinations.Červenka, Zdenek. Land-Locked Countries of Africa. Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1973. p. 151 On 13 February 1973, Bokassa issued a decree suspending operations of Air Centrafrique, due to a conflict with French navigation staff. Année africaine. Éditions A. Pedone., 1974. p. 410
By , passenger scheduled services to Bangui, Bambari, Bangassou, Birao, Bouar, Bria, Carnot, Obo, Ouadda and Zemio were operated; seasonal flights were also undertaken during the safari hunting period. A Caravelle 3 entered the fleet in the late 1970s.
The airline ceased operations between 1978 and 1979. The collapse of Air Centrafrique, along with other debacles of the Bokassa legacy, contributed to undermining the prestige of the Central African Republic internationally.
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