Posted by Sade Williams
The Federal government has announced the suspension of the National carrier project, Deputy Director, Press and Public Affairs, Aviation Ministry, James Odaudu told The TravelPort on Wednesday.
He confirmed the quote ‘I regret to announce that the Federal Executive Council has taken the tough decision to suspend the National Carrier Project in the interim. All commitments due will be honoured. We thank the public for the support as always’, from Sen. Hadi Sirika, Aviation Minister, tweeter handle and posted on Odaudu’s Facebook page , insinuating that the project may still be revisited.
He said: ‘No press release other than the Minister’s tweet that I have shared’.
The Federal Government had in July this year, unveiled the name and livery for the national carrier that would be launched at the end of this year.
Minister of State for Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika unveiled the airline’s name, “Nigeria Air”, at the Farnborough Airshow in London, United Kingdom.
According to a statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director, Media and Public Affairs, James Odaudu, the government came up with the name after it engaged over 400,000 people on social media.
Sirika, who spoke after the unveiling, said: “I am very pleased to tell you that we are finally on track to launching a new national flag carrier for our country, Nigeria Air.
He said: “We are all fully committed to fulfilling the campaign promise made by our President, Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015. We are aiming to launch Nigeria Air by the end of this year.
“I want to personally thank our transaction advisers, led by AMG, and the special Task Force, who have worked diligently to achieve the results so far and overcome the challenges involved.
“We obtained the certificate of compliance from the Nigerian Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) two weeks ago and can now go into the investor search. I am confident that we will have a well-run national flag carrier, a global player, compliant to international safety standards, one which has the customer at its heart.
“We hope to establish an airline that communicates the essence of our beautiful country, an airline we can all be proud of.”
