The Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos /Photo: Femi Awoniyi

Nigeria Air: Minister names date for commencement of operations

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has announced that the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air is to commence full operations before the end of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Sirika made the revelation at an aviation stakeholder’s forum in Abuja on Thursday.

Responding to a question on when exactly Nigeria Air will commence operations, the minister said, “Before the end of this administration, before May 29th, we will fly.”

He added that the Federal Government is leaving the aviation sector better than it met it having achieved over 90% of the aviation sector road map.

The minister also assured airline operators that issues of blocked funds would soon be history, saying the government was working to ensure that all blocked funds were released as soon as possible. Foreign airlines face immense difficulties to repatriate their revenue from Nigeria due to forex controls by the Central Bank.

Kola Tella

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