- Dana Air Welcomes FG’s Audit
Dana Air has welcomed the audit ordered by the Federal Government on the carrier and is willing to work with the team to demonstrate its commitment to safety.
The Federal Executive Council had on Wednesday expressed concerns over air incidents recorded in the country recently at a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, and ordered a complete audit of Dana Air’s personnel, operations and technical capacity.
In a statement signed by its Media and Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa, on Thursday, the airline said the willingness to work with the government was to reassure its passengers of its commitment to providing safe air transport.
Ezenwa stated, “Dana Air wishes to thank the Accident Investigation Bureau for releasing the preliminary report on the Port Harcourt runway incident involving one of our aircraft on the 23rd of February, 2018. Excerpts of the report confirmed that the Air Traffic Control, an arm of the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency that is saddled with the responsibility of issuing instructions that the pilots are required to obey, had cleared the pilot in command to land.
“It is pertinent to note that the pilot is one of the very best in his profession, meticulous in his duties, and headhunted from another domestic airline, where he also served as the head of safety and quality standards. Considering the safety measures that we have put in place and our huge investment in training of our crew and pilots, we decided not to join issues, but to rather wait on the report of the AIB, the authentic body responsible for such investigations.”
Ezenwa added that in 2013, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and its foreign partner, the Flight Safety Group, carried out an audit on Dana’s operations and in 2016, the airline applied to become a member of the International Air Transport Association, went through its audit and subsequently became a member.
He added, “We, therefore, welcome the recent audit ordered by the Federal Government and we are willing to work with the team and the Federal Government to demonstrate our commitment not just to flying, but to flying safe.
“We also wish to thank the honourable Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who has proved himself as a technocrat, and our esteemed guests for keeping faith with us while the incident was under investigation.”
