The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on Wednesday, announced that Nigeria’s new national carrier will kick-start operations within the first three months of 2022.
This was disclosed by the Minister after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja.
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He said, “The new national carrier is long overdue and the private sector-run airline will be in operation by early 2022, with possibly cheaper rates.”
The federal government had earlier suspended the proposed new National Carrier, Nigeria Air in September 2018.
The Minister of Aviation made the announcement in a Tweet on his official Twitter handle but gave no reason for the decision.
However, later in 2019, Sirika reiterated that the establishment of the National Carrier, Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities and implementation of other components of the Aviation Roadmap remain top priorities of the Federal Government.
According to him, the establishment of the national carrier would further position Nigeria to compete with other nations, in line with the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) project.