Aberdair Aviation was incorporated by Father and Son team, Freddie and Adrian Wilcox. Freddie Wilcox had established Autair Helicopters East Africa as the first commercial helicopter operator in Nairobi in the late 1960s. Autair was the Bell Helicopter agent in East Africa for over 30 years and Freddie was instrumental in the development of the local helicopter industry and the establishment of the Police Airwings in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Autair Helicopters supported a wide range of clients ranging from oil companies who were conducting the initial seismic surveys in East Africa through to flying for the major works teams during the epic Safari Rally of the 1970s and 1980s.

Aberdair Aviation was incorporated in Kenya in 2002 and focussed initially on the sale and leasing of general aviation fixed wing and helicopter aircraft. In 2005 Aberdair submitted an application to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority for its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) with an initial Embraer EMB-110 ‘Bandeirante’ (registration 5Y-FWA). The operator’s certificate (AOC) was issued on May 2nd 2006.

Operations expanded thereafter including the commencement of what would be a 12-year contract with Oil Spill Response supporting their airborne dispersant spraying and surveillance capability in West Africa. To date Aberdair Aviation Group has operated contracts in over 30 African countries as well as in countries as far afield as Singapore and Iraq with the company’s fleet of fixed wing and helicopter aircraft being operated across its primary AOC operations in Kenya and Ghana.

Helicopter operations were added to Aberdair’s Kenyan AOC capability in 2011 whereafter the company focused on the support of a new wave of resource-sector exploration contracts across East Africa.

Aberdair Aviation looks forward to expanding into new markets in Africa and beyond, whilst also embracing new aviation technologies such as UAVs as well as hydrogen / hydrogen electric powerplant innovations.