Nigeria Air arrive Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Photo: Adaku Eneh/Radio Nigeria
The much awaited national carrier, Nigeria Air, has been unveiled at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international Airport Abuja.
The Boieng 737 aircraft configured to carry 180 passengers, adorned in the National colors was welcomed by the Minister of aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, Airport officials, representative of the Ethopian airline and the media.
At the unveiling, Senator Hadi Sirika recalled how government overcame various obstacles to achieve the feat and commending the capabilities of its partner, Ethiopian Airlines.
“Three things happened, during this period. The country went directly into recession 2016, the Nigeria Airways had 78billion naira being owned and right after that when we started to make moves to conclude the business case we entered into covid.
“Our partner is the Ethiopian airline and the reason is, one, they are an African airline, two, they belong to an international global partnership, three, they posted over a billion dollars profit in covid. The Minister said.
The minister of aviation said the airline was expected to grow into a fleet of 30 in the next five years, with the initial aircraft to run mock flights for a period of time before it commences commercial operations with an estimated 10 billion dollars return on investment.
Government Officials welcome the National Carrier. Photo: Adaku Eneh/Radio Nigeria
Ethiopian Airlines Official, Mr. Lemma Yadecha promised to make the national carrier a success.
The launch of the nation’s air carrier, Nigeria Air, is one of the components of the aviation roadmap, the minister rolled out when he resumed office and promised to fulfil before the end of his administration
Reporting by Adaku Eneh, Editing Annabel Nwachukwu, Chinasa Ossai