Few hurdles to cross before a date for “Nigeria Air” to take to the sky- Capt Dapo Olumide
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Capt Dapo Olumide, interim Managing Director, Nigeria Air
The interim management of Nigeria Air has declared it will not put the cart before the horse hence, its start of operations will not be by permutation nor mouthing any date to achieve respite from the public glare, but will follow due diligence which will naturally usher in a sacrosanct date the startup will begin caressing the sky.
Capt Dapo Olumide, interim Managing Director, Nigeria Air, made this known on Monday, while receiving the Air Transport License, ATL, issued the startup by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, in Abuja.
He said there were few hurdles to be cleared before a date for the start of operation could be announced in order not to take the over 200 million Nigerians for a ride.
The Nigeria Air interim helmsman said before touting a take-off date, Air Operator’s Certificate, AOC, needed to have been in its kitty. And to procure AOC, equipment type and the number required for its initial operations needed to be cleared with the regulator.
Explaining what the interim management had done towards procuring AOC, he said “we already have aircraft identified because that is one of the requirements for the NCAA to issue AOC. We are waiting for the terms of agreement with Provider of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)”.
Capt Olumide added, “what we need now is to go through stages to get an AOC certificate from NCAA. No magic in the process. It is not something that can be issued because they like your face”.
He further explained as expected of a veteran in aviation management that, “when you have an AOC and ATL, you can commence commercial scheduled operations”.
Unlike the over half a dozen but unreliable take off dates bandied since 2018, the new helmsman made public the rationale why the hastily announced take-off date might turn out to be an illusion.
Capt Olumide retorted that “the date to start operation is largely based on the process one is following to get the AOC certificate“ he said.
What a pleasant relief to stakeholders and the general public whose expectations will not be unduly raised and dashed at will as sadly witnessed in the recent past.
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