Victor Ezeja
With the revelations by the Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Captain Dapo Olumide, that the aircraft used for the launch of the airline was chartered from Ethiopia, the Airline Operators of Nigeria spokesperson, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo says Nigerians can now see that AON was not merely raising a false alarm.
Nigeria Air MD, Olumide, who appeared before the senate to clarify the controversies surrounding the launch of Nigeria Air on May 26, a few days to end of President Buhari-led administration, said the aircraft that flew into the country on the day of the launch was a chartered flight from Ethiopia and went back after the event.
Olumide further disclosed to the Senate Committee on Aviation that Nigeria Air does not have a licence yet to operate an airline, adding that for it to get the needed licence, Nigeria Air must have three aircraft before the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will give it air license to fly and the three aircraft must be Nigeria-registered aircraft.
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Okonkwo, who appeared on Arise News Programme on Tuesday night, said airline operators knew that given the approach in which the Nigeria Air project was being handled, it was bound not to succeed.
He said airline operators are not against new airlines coming up, but due follow due process should be followed to avoid undesired consequences.
He said the AON was only against attempts by some forces in the Ministry of Aviation to make the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) compromise and issue certification to Nigeria Air.
He commended the DG of NCAA, Capt Musa Nuhu, for not bowing to pressures to issue Air Operators Certificate (AOC) to Nigeria Air without due process.
According to Okonkwo, if that was done, it would have come with some consequences on Nigeria’s aviation industry, as the NCAA would have lost certification from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), to grant further AOC.
He added that for an airline to obtain AOC certification, it must undergo a five-phase certification process, which is a rigorous exercise.
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“We are not interested in any other thing other than to protect the aviation ecosystem, to maintain the integrity of certificate which is the alter ego in airline operations which is AOC.
“If anything was done to affect the integrity and credibility of AOC process in Nigeria, it would affect the entire operators.
“So, for us, the DG NCAA is a hero of this project. He deserves a national honours award because we were aware from inside sources that they were subjected to tremendous pressure.”
“It wouldn’t have been the business of AON, but forcing NCAA to give the certification outside the due process was our only single concern,” he said.
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Recall that AON had earlier in the year obtained a court order which restrained NCAA from issuing AOC to Nigeria Air without following due process and meeting all the requirements.
The former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika had insisted that the Nigeria Air would kick off operations before the end of Buhari’s administration.
Recall that Prime Business Africa reported that the Federal Government on Friday, May 26, took delivery of the first plane of the country’s national carrier, Nigeria Air, amid protest from local airline operators that it was contrary to a court order, which barred the government from taking further action on the project.
The AON spokesperson, who is also the CEO of United Nigeria Airlines, said that what happened during the purported launch, wasn’t the original plan of those executing the project. According to him, they wanted to do everything that is done for an airline that is about to take off, including a test flight, and carrying passengers, among other things, but NCAA insisted that everything must be done according to the rules.
He said what was done for Nigeria Air was just a static display which is not the real thing for an airline that really mean to kick off commercial operations.
He said that Nigeria’s aviation industry is the fastest growing aviation industry in the world and the operators would not fold their hands and watch anything that would ruin the industry operations occur because they have invested heavily in it.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
