Nigerian Domestic Air Travelers Need To Read This

By Cami Ezenwa

Nigerian domestic air travelers need to read this piece of information as it concerns their safety and welfare travelling the Nigerian airspace.

Barely two months after the suspension of Dana Airlines on July 20, 2022, by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) another airline operator, Azman Air Services Limited has suffered the same fate.

The implication is that a total of three domestic airlines out of nine running daily scheduled operations are no longer flying, thus creating more passenger traffic in the country.

The authorities had suspended Dana Air in pursuant of Section 35(2), 3(b) and (4) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3(a)(1) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), 2015.

It was reported that Azman Air was yet to renew its Air Operations Certificate (AOC) thereby warranting the authorities to wield the hammer.

But when The Eagle put a call through to a spokesman of the airline, Mr Habib Azman, he denied being aware of the real reasons why their operations were being suspended.

He told our correspondent: “The news just came to us. We don’t know the reason why we have been suspended”.

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However, the axe on Azman it is feared, may worsen the lot of air travelers in the country, not only limiting their options but creating stampede.

It was also learnt that the regulatory body had given it much time to renew the AOC, including giving issuing it a 30-day ultimatum to renew the AOL to no avail.

In the case of Dana, NCAA boss,  Captain Musa Nuhu, had:
“The decision is the outcome of a financial and economic health audit carried out on the airline by the authority, and the findings of an investigation conducted on the airline’s flight operations recently, which revealed that Dana Airlines is no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations.

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“The NCAA acknowledges the negative effect this preemptive decision will have on the airline’s passengers and the travelling public and seeks their understanding, as the safety of flight operations takes priority over all other considerations.”