KENYAN freighter operator Astral Aviation has postponed plans to acquire an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) for Europe to focus more on its operations in Africa and Asia.

The airline's founder and chief executive Sanjeev Gadhia previously told London's Air Cargo News (ACN) that Astral was considering the possibility of setting up an AOC in Europe - possibly in Malta because it offered the "best value proposition to foreign airlines" for this purpose.

But in a recent interview with ACN, Mr Gadhia said: "At the moment we have postponed our plans for having a European AOC. We feel that we may need to focus more on China and Africa.

"Setting up a new AOC is very tough; the compliance and regulatory challenges and hurdles can be very exhausting.

"And I know that quite a lot of the airlines of Europe have set up bases in Malta and it can take a long time. So, we just feel that we missed the boat.

"When we are ready, we will actually be in a position to decide on that, but it's no longer a priority for us."

Mr Gadhia also said last year that Astral had shifted its focus for future growth away from Europe in favour of Asia as it had seen a decline in airfreight volumes from Europe to Africa due to the strong euro.

However, Astral, which has hubs in Nairobi, Dubai, Johannesburg and Liege, currently operates flights to Liege (LGG) in Belgium and Doncaster Sheffield (DSA) in the UK.

Astral has also postponed its order for two Embraer E190Fs because the airline is "not ready", said Mr Gadhia.