Nigeria’s Aviation Minister says new National Carrier to commence Operations Q1 2022
A new national carrier to replace the liquidated Nigeria Airways will begin operations by the first quarter of 2022, Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has disclosed.
Sirika told reporters Wednesday in Abuja at the end of a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), that the federal government was committed to providing a national carrier for the country.
He explained that the new national carrier is long overdue and the private sector-run airline will be in operation by early 2022, with possibly cheaper fairs.
He added that the new national carrier is expected to be a viable airline and is potentially poised to cater for millions of travelers in Nigeria and Africa.
According to the Aviation Minister, the forced postponement of the planned date for the establishment of the National Carrier (which was initially planned for the end of 2021) was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He disclosed that the Ministry would return to the council in two weeks to submit a memo with an outline business case for council’s approval.
The Federal Government it would had earlier in September 2018 suspended the proposed new National Carrier, Nigeria Air but gave no reason at the time.
But later in 2019, Sirika reiterated that the establishment of the National Carrier, Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities and implementation of other components of the Aviation Roadmap remain top priorities of the Federal Government.
According to him, the establishment of the national carrier would further position Nigeria to compete with other nations, in line with the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) project and develop as a regional hub for air transportation.
