President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has recently disclosed that the nation’s national carrier ‘Nigeria air’ is 91 percent ready and will begin its flight operations by December.
The Airline had been proposed to take off in April but failed to meet the deadline due to challenges ravaging the aviation industry, as it has been rescheduled to take off by December.
Nigeria Air will be launched with three Boeing 737-800 in a configuration very suitable for the Nigerian market. It has also begun its recruitment process for captains and crew members.
According to Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, the nation’s national carrier would have an initial capital of $300 million and 30 aircraft within four years.
“Nigeria Air Limited received from Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) an Air Transport License (ATL), signaling the end of the beginning of operations of the Airline. Commencement date of domestic operations will be announced in due course,” he said.
On the other hand, President Buhari has given the assurance that the Lagos and Abuja international airports had been certified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) while Kano and Port Harcourt airports are undergoing similar certification processes for smooth flight operation.
Ethiopian Airline (ET) consortium was selected as the preferred bidder for Nigeria Air after it scored 89 percent out of 100 in the technical bidding process and 15 out of 20 as regards financial bids.
49 percent of the Nigeria Air project will be owned by equity partners and 46 percent by Nigerians, while the Federal Government will own five percent of the shares.
It is however interesting to note that Nigeria Air will not be the first indigenous airline owned by Ethiopian Airlines in Africa as it also has shares in airlines in other countries, which includes 45 percent of Zambia Airways, 49 percent of Guinea Airways, 100 percent of Ethiopia-Mozambique Airlines, 49 percent of Chad Airlines and 49 percent of Air Malawi.
Investors King understands that Nigeria’s defunct carrier, Nigeria Airways, collapsed due to corruption and poor management, which the federal government blamed the incompetence of those with little knowledge of the aviation industry for the collapse of the national carrier.
The government has however promised to restore the glorious days when Nigeria’s Airways was the preferred choice of Nigerians, both the middle and upper class of the social ladder.