Air Zaïre right to declare a Zairean company bankrupt and threatened to close Sabena's office in Kinshasa in retaliation. In response, the Belgian government offered the bankrupt carrier's landing rights to Scibe Airlift, an airline which was owned by a Mobutu family member. In 1998, it was reported that the airline had a total debt of BFr1.5 billion, including 700 million which was for social liabilities. After the collapse of Air Zaïre, Sabena entered into a partnership with the Zairean government to create a new airline to be called New Air Zaïre. The new airline would operate domestic services, whilst Sabena would
Sabena Douglas DC-7C was introduced for long-haul routes but this plane would begin to be supplanted after only three years by the jet age. It remained in service on the transatlantic route until 1962. On 3 June 1954, a Soviet Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO reporting name "Fagot") attacked a Sabena-operated Douglas DC-3 on a cargo flight from the United Kingdom to Yugoslavia, killing the radio operator and wounding both the captain and engineer. Co-pilot Douglas Wilson managed to land in Austria but the plane suffered significant damage. For the 1958 world exposition in Brussels, Sabena leased two Lockheed Super Constellations