Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika says the national carrier, Nigeria Air will commence operations within 6 to 8 weeks as preparations for its establishment has been concluded.
At a news conference in Abuja, the minister said recruitment of pilots and cabin crew had commenced while an inaugural aircraft will enter the country next week.
He noted that the full business case for the establishment for Air Nigeria is expected to be approved by the Federal Executive Council.
According to him, after a detailed selection process by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Ethiopian Airlines was selected as the preferred bidder.
“After a careful, detailed and the ICRC governed selection process, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) consortium has been selected as preferred bidder, offering an owner consortium of three Nigerian investors MRS, SAHCO and the Nigerian Sovereign Fund (46%), FGN owning 5% and ET 49%’, he explained.
The aviation minister said ₦400m had so far been spent on the project with federal government’s 5% capital investment covering for the requirements needed to establish the airline.
Sen. Sirika said the national carrier would be launched with 3 new Boeing 737-800 aircrafts configurations suitable for the Nigerian market and would grow to 30 and 40 within 4 years.
He said the National Carrier would commence operations with a shuttle service between Abuja and Lagos while other domestic routes would follow.
RN