Sabena a lesser number of smaller Fokker VIIA and 14 Handley-Page types. It also flew British Westland Wessex aircraft. Sabena occasionally flew to tropical Africa, Belgium's Congo colony, but mostly these aircraft were shipped out. There was no direct flight yet between Belgium and the colony. As the 1930s progressed, Sabena cooperated with Air France and Deutsche Luft Hansa, which also had interests in routes to destinations across Africa. Sabena's first long-haul flight to the Congo occurred on 12 February 1935 and took five and a half days, for which Sabena used a Fokker F-VII/3m aircraft. The following year, Sabena purchased
Sabena technics Sabena technics Created in 1968, Sabena technics is an independent MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) provider offering services to civil and military aircraft operators. 1968: Founding of Touraine Air Transport by Michel Marchais The air transport company Touraine Air Transport (TAT) was born in 1968 thanks to Michel Marchais (father of Rodolphe Marchais), a pioneer in the developments which were to lead the way in the air transport sector. TAT was to become the first independent regional company in Europe. TAT let go of its airline company in 1996 to focus on industrial activities: aircraft maintenance (TAT Industries) and leasing