President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has halted the Nigeria Air project, emphasizing that national carrier will not fly for now.
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, announced this on Thursday.
The controversial project carried out by the immediate prior Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, during the Muhammadu Buhari administration, will be fully audited, according to the Minister.
While revealing plans for complete reform of the sector to correct the situation, Keyamo stated that beginning October 1, all international airlines will originate their flights from the MMIA’s new terminal, paving the door for the refurbishment of the existing terminal.
Keyamo said: “Nigeria Air has been suspended until I brief the President, whom I owe absolute loyalty and honesty to the people of Nigeria, about all that transpired concerning that project.
“We have to ensure that everything is right before we can go ahead with further transactions on it.”
Remember that Ethiopian Airlines, which received the franchise to run Nigeria Air, was to own 49 percent of the company. The Nigeria Sovereign Fund and the Federal Government contribute 46% and 5%, respectively.
However, local airlines, represented by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), opposed the project.
On May 26, the previous administration commissioned a jet with the Nigeria Airlines inscription at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA).
The flight, which included Sirika and Ethiopian Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer, Lemma Gudeta, sparked criticism from critics who criticized the arrangement.
Meanwhile, Keyamo stated that the relocation of foreign airlines will pave the door for the renovation of the old terminal building’s infrastructure.
The minister said: “We must use what we have for now. I have given both international airlines and local airlines till 1st October to move from the old terminal to the new one.
“We are going to shut down the old terminal temporarily and sort out all the issues surrounding the old terminal, such as concession agreements.
“The old international terminal, right from the toilet facilities to the arrival and departure halls, is an eyesore to Nigerians and foreigners.
“The lifts are not working, and the passage is unwelcoming, and there is no air conditioner. We have the new terminal, but it cannot be used. It was designed without provision for big planes.
“I don’t know what happened, and I have been asking that question that makes them not to have avio-bridges that would lead to the big planes.”
According to the minister, the Lagos airport generates 60% of the money generated by the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Furthermore, Keyamo stated that Lagos remained the country’s “gateway” and “first impression.”
Keyamo also ordered that owners of unserviceable aircraft littering the airport’s local wing remove them within the next three months, or the government will dispose of them.
He stated that airlines that are not using dead aircraft should not take up space needed to expand the apron.
Keyamo said: “I have directed the MD of FAAN that owners of these dead planes parked perpetually on the facility of the Federal Government to remove them.
“We are giving them three months to move them away, after which we shall be at liberty to do away with the aircraft. This is because we want to expand our apron.”
