…as Bankole decries difficulty in accessing forex
Medview Airline at the weekend took delivery of its Boeing 737-500 aircraft after undergoing a comprehensive check in Estonia.
The arrival of the aircraft puts the number on its fleet at six while the new aircraft was immediately deployed for its Accra operations on Sunday.
The Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer of Med-View Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole received the aircraft on arrival at the Murtala Mohammed Airport two (MMA2) in Lagos alongside other top management staff of the airline.
The interior part of the aircraft was branded with First Bank logo but the MD explained that it was done to appreciate the bank for being its reliable partner over the years.
He said two more aircraft are also expected in the next one month to enable the airline open up the West Coast, start its Dubai operation and provide back-up for its London-Gatwick operation, among others.
He decried the difficulty in accessing foreign exchange by indigenous airlines, saying he bought dollar at N370 to bring back the aircraft.
He commended the efforts being made by the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika to address the challenges confronting the local carriers, urging him to impress it on President Mohammadu Buhari to realise that the local airlines are a driving force for the economy.
“We changed dollars at 370, that is very sad. It is very painful. We had to source for it from different local areas, both foreign partners and friends and that is the game”, he said.
Bankole said the new aircraft had been immediately deployed to Accra, adding, “We are opening up the West Coast and you should know the London route is doing very well.
Throughout July and August, we have no seat available. I have been talking with my colleagues to deploy a 747 late June –July to bring Nigerians home for the summer. Jeddah is doing very well. We are on already for the special Umrah operations. We are doing a heavy one with three flights now. We are doing charter for the fourth one. We have a charter for Sokoto, in Gombe, we are doing charter”.
By: Sade Williams
