NCAA: Enugu Air unveiling, operation ‘ill ensure fair competition, promote local airlines’ growth

The unveiling of Enugu Air by the government of Enugu State has elicited excitement among the people of the state and air travellers with many of them saying the setting up of the airline would help to open the space and offer more choices to the travelling public with a view to engendering competition and leading to competitive fares on the route.

Few airlines operate services to the heart of the Eastern region, and those that do are said to charge astronomical fares from Lagos and Abuja to Enugu.

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection for Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu in a statement on Monday said that the NCAA remains committed to enabling a supportive regulatory environment for indigenous carriers, ensuring fair competition, and upholding the highest standards of safety, security, and consumer protection in Nigeria’s air transport industry.

He further stated that the authority’s approval for the start-up airline to commence flight services is in line with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo’s 5-point agenda aimed at promoting the growth of indigenous airlines, the authority’s mantra of ease of doing business and deepening sectoral reforms.

Achimugu disclosed that Enugu Air had designated XEJET as its operational partner pending the conclusion of its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) process.

He noted that under the partnership, XEJET had completed a full variation process to integrate the Embraer 170 aircraft into its Operations Specifications (Ops Specs) in accordance with the NCAA’s five-phase certification procedure.

“As such, XEJET is duly authorised to operate scheduled commercial flights on behalf of Enugu Air under current NCAA guidelines. In the interim, ticket sales for Enugu Air are facilitated through the XEJET platform accessible through a redirect on the Enugu  Air official website”, he added.

Wole Shadare