Finally, a new national carrier is here.
It is Nigeria Air and will commence operations in December 2018.
In a tweet on the official handle of the Government of Nigeria @AsoRock, Wednesday, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said 81 routes (domestic, regional and international) have been identified for the national carrier out of more than 1000 routes considered.
According to him, negotiations are on with Airbus and Boeing regarding supply and purchase of aircrafts.
He promised that further announcements in that regard would be made soon.
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On how the national carrier will operate, the Minister tweeted: “This will be a National Carrier that is Private sector led and driven. It is a business, not a social service. Government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it. The investors will have full responsibility for this.”
He further disclosed that “New terminals in Lagos and Abuja Airports will add 11 million passenger capacity in each of the two airports.”
Lagos international airport, he said currently does 8 million passengers per annum while Abuja does 5 million.
Nigeria Air replaces Nigeria Airways which went out of business in 2003, as Nigeria’s national carrier.
