Flight operations by Dana Airline has been indefinitely put on hold as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has indefinitely withdrawn its Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
This was disclosed in a statement by NCAA’s Director-General, Captain Musa Nuhu on Wednesday.
According to him, the suspension of the operations of the airlines would take effect from midnight of July 20.
“The suspension was made pursuant to Section 35(2), 3(b) and (4) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3(a)(1) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), 2015,” Nuhu said.
He also disclosed that the management of the airline have already been briefed on the development.
Furthermore, Nuhu revealed that that the decision was the outcome of a financial and economic health audit carried out on the airline by the Authority, and the findings of an investigation conducted on the airline’s flight operations recently, which revealed that Dana Airlines was no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations.
“The NCAA acknowledges the negative effect this pre-emptive decision will have on the airline’s passengers and the travelling public and seeks their understanding, as the safety of flight operations takes priority over all other considerations.”
Truthlive.net recalls that Aero Contractors on Monday also announced that it was temporarily suspending its “scheduled passenger services operations” on Monday.
The conditions of Aero’s decision, however, had nothing to do with regulatory action by the NCAA.
In a statement, the airline said its decision was “due to the impact of the challenging operating environment” on the airline’s daily operations. The suspension took effect on Wednesday.
“This does not in any way affect the Maintenance activities of the Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) otherwise known as AeroMRO, the Approved Training Organisation (ATO) also known as Aero Training School, the Helicopter and Charter Services operations,” the airline said.
Also, Aero Contractors apologized for the inconvenience the suspension which begins on Wednesday might cause.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to our esteemed customers and promise to return to service as soon as possible,” it said.
Part of the statement reads: “This decision was carefully considered and taken due to the fact that most of our aircraft are currently undergoing Maintenance, resulting in our inability to offer a seamless and efficient service to our esteemed customers.
“We are working to bring these aircraft back to service in the next few weeks, so we can continue to offer our passengers the safe, efficient, and reliable services that Aero Contractors is known for, which is the hallmark of Aero Contractors Company of Nig. Ltd.”