FG set To Lease Three Aircraft To Commence Flight Operations

The hope for a new national carrier, Nigeria Air, brightens on Wednesday as the Federal Government approved the leasing of three aircraft. The three aircraft are made by Airbus and Boeing.

Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, made the disclosure while briefing journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The FEC meeting was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sirika announced that the airline would begin with domestic routes, then expand to regional and intercontinental routes. He was not specific with the actual date for the take-off of the airline operations.

Beyond the lease of the aircraft, the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari approved a total sum of 1,506,285.7 euros, approximately N707,962,864.83 to enable the airport authorities to acquire working tools under the Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB.

The Nigerian national carrier logo had been launched abroad, a few years ago, when stakeholders in the Nigerian aviation sector took to an airfare to explore options available to it for effective execution.

Sirika said, “I presented two memoranda on the national carrier to allow Nigeria to lease aircraft to start operations. That has been approved by the council. And the second is the deployment of investigation tools by the Accident Investigation Bureau. That tool will permit the accident investigation to be able to decode going ons in flights, and God forbid, should there be a need to investigate the accident or incident, the tool will help them to be able to do so. That procurement is in the sum of 1,506,285.7 euros which is equivalent to N707,962,864.83.

“This will include taxes at a central bank exchange rate of 472 in Euro with the delivery period of 11 months and is awarded to Messers Integrated Contract Services Limited for AIB.

“On how many aircraft, I have said in our business plan, in the outline business case which is approved which are presented right here in this hall, I said that we are starting with three aircraft, for the first instance, to do the runs and then we progress. As to the make and type, we will be having eventually a mix of the two, the Air Buses and the Boeings.

“Because every airline that wants to grow big is either or, most of them are either Air Bus or they are Boeing, especially for the Intercontinental and international flights. And this will start as a domestic airline. And then it will of course grow to become regional and international and also intercontinental. On the timeline, it is a process we’re progressing. We will announce the commencement date soon.

“On how they’re going to pull this through with the hiccups the aviation is facing, well certainly it is a global phenomenon. If you, of course, I’m very sure you are abreast with the going on around the aviation industry.

” But suddenly it’s not here forever. Aviation is a very resilient activity. From time to time, it always takes a dip and then comes back up. We saw it on 9/11, we saw it in the south, we saw it in the global meltdown. We saw it in Pearl Harbor, and so on and so forth. So aviation is very resilient. And I think we’ll get out of the problems we are facing. Of particular reference, yesterday all of you were present when we discussed with The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) the challenges we’re facing in terms of Jet A1 availability and of course pricing, which is 40% of the operations of the airline.

“We’re finding solutions to those problems and the cost of funds also is being attended to and so on and so forth. So yes, we will get there. And it’s doable and by God’s grace”