Barely 24 hours after Aero Contractors
Airlines announced suspension of its operations, another domestic carrier,
First Nation Airlines, has followed suit, suspending its operations. The
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) made this known on Thursday.
Aero Contractors Airlines, Nigeria’s second largest commercial carrier,
announced an indefinite suspension of its scheduled flight services and its
staff with effect from Thursday, September 1, 2016. The Director-General of the
NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, explained that the decision was taken in order to
ensure that the airline carried out the required maintenance of its aircraft.
Usman, however, refuted claims that some of the domestic airlines were winding
down their operations regardless of the fact that they had suspended flight
services.
A statement signed by NCAA’s DG said: “The First Nation Airlines on
its part is in the middle of an Engine Replacement Programme for one of its
aircrafts. Another aircraft is due for mandatory maintenance as allowed by the
regulatory authority. “In these circumstances, these airlines clearly cannot
continue to undertake schedule operations, hence the inevitable recourse to
self regulatory suspension.” Usman insisted that the domestic carriers had not
wound down their operations, but were “merely suspending their operations
temporarily to enable them undertake certain operational overhaul and
strengthen their overall operational outlay.”
