Only one aircraft as FG unveils Nigeria Air

 

The Federal Government has unveiled Nigeria Air, a national carrier.

Aviation and Aerospace Minister, Hadi Sirika, performed the ceremony at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Friday.

Thirty aircraft are expected to form the fleet of Nigeria Air in the next five years. However, only one aircraft was sighted at the unveiling ceremony.

Speaking at the event, Sirika insisted that the national carrier would be private-sector driven with the Federal Government holding just a 5% stake while private owners would hold the remaining 95% share.

Ethiopian Airlines reportedly holds a 49 percent stake in the new airline.

The unveiling of the airline has created serious uproar, as experts, and stakeholders questioned the rationale behind the launch barely 72 hours to the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The key players also wondered how the aircraft can fly into the country without getting an Air Operating Certificate, AOC, from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria AON through its legal team forwarded a letter, calling on President Buhari to stop the aviation minister from unveiling Nigeria Air as a case on the matter is pending in court.

The AON said the unveiling of Nigeria Air violates the order of the Federal High Court in Lagos which restrains the minister from taking any step regarding the Nigeria Air project.