Nigeria Air is set to begin operation, Hadi Sirika has disclosed.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Nigerian aviation Minister on Wednesday revealed that the nation’s national air carrier, Nigeria Air will begin operation in the first quarter of 2022.
“In this 2021, we will try to do all the needful and probably we intend to start operations somewhere around first quarter 2022,” Sirika told reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Minister attributed the delay in the conclusion of plans for Nigeria Air which was initially expected to take off this year, to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sirika further disclosed that the aviation ministry will submit a proposal to the council in two weeks and assured that the Federal Government is nevertheless committed to accomplishing this soon.
“It is still in top gear, we are coming back to Council, hopefully within the next two weeks, to present the memo on the national carrier,” he said.
“We went to Council to approve the outline business case for the carrier and then the Council raised some questions and asked us to go and file the memo again and bring it back.
“So, once it comes back and the outline business case is approved by Council, then, of course, we will now go to the full business case, which is now going to the market and then establishing the national carrier.
“It was our intention to have a national carrier running in 2021, which is this year. Unfortunately due to COVID, which took the greater part of last year, since March last year, activities are almost impossible.
“Of course, for obvious reasons, we now have access to equipment, that they will come faster to us, deliveries of the aircraft will be faster, perhaps even the rates might be cheaper and so on, and so forth.”
