Air Gabon was founded in 1951 as Compagnie Aerienne Gabonaise operating regional flights out of Libreville using Beechcraft and De Havilland aircraft.

The new airline was formed from the nucleus of Société Nationale Transgabon with the mandate to operate long-haul international services from Libreville.

On 5 October the airline's Boeing 747, named President Léon M'ba, arrived as part of the wet lease agreement signed the previous year.

[2][4] The DC-6s and DC-4 were replaced in 1979 by two Vickers Vanguard turboprops, and the airline's international route network was expanded to Marseille, Nice, Paris and Rome.

The airline ordered a Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules in 1984 after it was given a loan by the Export-Import Bank, which when delivered in late 1985 replaced the Vickers Vanguards.