The federal government has said it is making every
effort to ensure the take-off of the national carrier, Nigeria Air, in December
this year.
This was disclosed by the Director General of the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Muhtar Usman, who said
Nigerians have started investing in the airline because they have developed
confidence in the government’s ability to successfully establish the national
carrier.
Usman, who spoke to journalists at the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Tuesday said controversy over
the planned national airline died down when Nigerians understood the level of
government’s commitment to the project.
He added that the government is working for the
successful take of the airline which would commence operation with five
aircraft and has at its behest 81 Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA)
routes.
He said: “The establishment of Nigeria Air is a
process, and the process is ongoing transparently for the people to see. The
plan is to get the best for Nigeria. Nigerians have been yearning for the gaps
created by the lack of having strong and viable carrier that would meet the
demands and potential of both the domestic market, the regional market and the
International market.”
Usman assured Nigerians that the December take-off
date of the airline is very feasible because efforts are being made to ensure
that the airline takes off operations this year.
He dismissed fears that the government might not
realise its target at the projected time, saying it would take about 90 days
for NCAA to deliver on the two major certificates-the Air Transport Licence
(ATL) and the Aircraft Operators Certificate (AOC)-adding that the government
is striving to achieve that.
“We still have more than 90 days to the end of the
year, so it is still feasible; all things being equal, am just talking from the
regulatory point of view,” Usman said.
In July this year, the federal government, through
the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, unveiled the livery
for the new national flag carrier, Nigeria Air, at the Farnborough Air Show in
the UK.
Usman told the media in a recent interview that the
national carrier would serve as a pivot for the development of air transport in
Nigeria because it would provide the platform for the establishment of Nigeria as
West and Central African hub; the development of major maintenance facility;
aircraft leasing, and that when airport are given in concession, the national
carrier would open the intra and inter-regional connectivity from Lagos and
Abuja airports.
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