Nigeria Air, the country’s proposed national carrier was announced in 2018, after the initial excitement, all talk about the airline went quiet.
Now, it looks like some progress has been made. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has now presented the Air Transport License (ATL) to the interim management of Nigeria Air.
Following this, the expectation is that the airline would also receive the all-important Airline Operator’s Certificate (AOC) in a few months, if all requirements are met. The AOC is a note of authority issued to airlines that fully guarantees them the right to begin air services. It usually comes after the ATL has been given.
The Ministry of Aviation took to its Instagram handle to make the announcement.
View this post on Instagram
Nigeria Air is expected to provide scheduled and non-scheduled services. The airline had in April 2022, applied to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for a licence to operate scheduled and non-scheduled passenger and cargo services.
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The new national airline is set to take the place of the now defunct Nigerian Airways which seized operations in 2003. It was designed as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Federal Government owning a marginal stake.
In March 2022, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, confirmed that the Federal Government would own a five per cent stake in the airline while the general public will own 46 per cent and the international partner airlines take 49 per cent shares.
