Nigeria Air to Begin Operations in December—Buhari

By Adedapo Adesanya

President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air, is at 91 per cent completion and is expected to commence flight operations by December.

Mr Buhari said this at the third ministerial performance review retreat on Monday in Abuja.

This is coming more than six months after Mr Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation, said the country’s proposed national carrier would take off by April 2022. However, with many challenges gripping the sector, it has missed the deadline.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) consortium was recently selected as the preferred bidder for Nigeria Air after scoring 89 per cent out of 100 in the technical bidding process and 15 out of 20 as regards financial bids.

The airline is to own 49 per cent of the national carrier.

Giving details of the deal in September, Mr Siriki had said: “The Nigerian investors are MRS, SAHCO and the Nigerian Sovereign Fund (46 per cent), FGN owning 5 per cent and ET 49 per cent.”

The minister reported that the federal government had spent less than the budgeted amount for the project. He also said that Ethiopian Airlines won the bid for the airline as it met the bidding evaluation criteria and the deadline.

Nigeria Air will be launched with three Boeing 737-800 in a configuration very suitable for the Nigerian market. It was also revealed that the airline would be owned by a Nigerian private investor consortium.

The airline has already begun its recruitment process for captains and crew members. According to the Aviation Minister, Nigeria Air would have an initial capital of $300 million and 30 aircraft within four years.

Nigeria Air will not be the first indigenous airline owned by Ethiopian Airlines in Africa. Ethiopia also has shares in airlines in other countries, including owning 45 per cent of Zambia Airways, 49 per cent of Guinea Airways, 100 per cent of Ethiopia-Mozambique Airlines, 49 per cent of Chad Airlines and 49 per cent of Air Malawi.

Meanwhile, Mr Buhari assured 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.