More trouble for Nigerian carriers as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended Dana Airlines’ Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) indefinitely, with effect from midnight of Wednesday, 20th July 2022.
This grounding of Dana is coming less than three days after Nigeria’s oldest airline, Aero Contractors sensationally announced the suspension of its scheduled flight operations beginning today amid concern that many of the country’s airlines are ailing.
The suspension of Dana flight services was made pursuant to 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.
DG NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu
The suspension order, handed down by the Director General, Captain Musa Nuhu, has since been communicated to the management of Dana Airlines.
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.
The NCAA acknowledged 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.
Dana Airlines in a statement late Wednesday night said, “Our operations have been suspended as advised by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) in order to undergo a full operational audit with effect from midnight 20th July 2022.
A spokesman for the carrier, Kingsley Ezenwa said, “Operational audits are regulatory and airlines are obligated to suspend their operations when the NCAA calls for it and we understand the impact this suspension will have on our partners, staff, passengers, and the general public but we are very confident that we would come out stronger as we have done in the past”.
“We wish to assure the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that we are fully ready and committed to cooperating with them in the course of this audit and to also reassure our customers and partners that we are safe, efficient, and reliable. The recent skyrocketing cost of Jet A1 at 830/litre, unavailability of forex, and inflation are also contributory factors to this decision regrettably.
Aero Contractors’ B737-500 aircraft
“We crave the understanding and patience of our customers, travel and business partners and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience our short absence from the market might cause. “Our customer service team will continue to operate 24/7 to assist affected customers with necessary information on refunds and our offices will be open to all our existing partners”.
Aero Contractors had announced it would be shutting down operations due to the impact of the challenging operating environment on its daily operations.
The airline in a statement on Monday said it would temporarily suspend its scheduled passenger services operations with effect from July 20, 2022.
The carrier is a statement that attributed the stoppage of operations to the impact of the challenging operating environment on our daily operations.
According to the management, the decision was carefully considered and taken due to the fact that most of our aircraft is currently undergoing maintenance, resulting in their inability to offer a seamless and efficient service to our esteemed customers.
“We are working to bring these aircraft back to service in the next few weeks, so we can continue to offer our passengers the safe, efficient, and reliable services that Aero Contractors is known for, which is the hallmark of Aero Contractors Company of Nig. Ltd”.
“The past few months according to the carrier had been very challenging for the aviation industry and the airline operators in particular, adding that with the high cost of maintenance, skyrocketing fuel prices, inflation, and forex scarcity resulting in high foreign exchange rates. These are among the major components of airline operations”.
