ana Airline has declared that it is not only committed to flying, but to flying safe in Nigeria.
The airline made the declaration against the background of the apprehension caused by the near mishaps involving two of its planes and the decision of the Federal Government to carry out an audit of the airline.
The declaration is contained in a statement made available to The Next Edition by the Media and Communications Manager, Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa.
Said Dana Airline: “We therefore welcome the recent audit ordered by the Federal Government and we are willing to work with the team and the FG to demonstrate our commitment not just to flying but to flying safe.”
The airline said the preliminary report of the investigation carried out by the AIB on the Port Harcourt runway incident had confirmed that the Air Traffic Control, an arm of the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency, saddled with the responsibility of issuing instructions that the pilots are required to obey, cleared the pilot in command to land.
“It is pertinent to note that the pilot of that flight is a happily married man and a proud father of three beautiful children.
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“He has over 30 years experience in the aviation industry and is one of the very best in his profession, meticulous in his duties, and headhunted from another domestic airline where he also served as the head of safety and quality standards.
“Considering the safety measures that we have put in place and our huge investment in training and retraining of our crew and pilots, we decided not to join issues, but to rather wait on the report of the AIB, the authentic body responsible for such investigations,” the airline said.
It added that in 2013, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and its foreign partners, the Flight Safety Group, carried out an audit on the operations of the airline.
It said that in 2016, as a result of its commitment to global safety standards, it applied to become a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), went through their audit and subsequently became a member in 2016.
The airline said its route and fleet expansion programme was still on course and that it remained dedicated to its recent interline and aircraft partnership with Asky Airline.