July 20, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended Dana Airlines’ Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) indefinitely, with effect from midnight of Wednesday, 20th July, 2022.
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.
The suspension order, handed down by the Director General, Captain Musa Nuhu, has since been communicated to the management of Dana Airlines.
In an official statement issued Wednesday evening, NCAA stated that, “The decision is 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 is no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations.”
According to the agency, “The NCAA acknowledges the negative effect this preemptive 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.”
Confirming the suspension, Spokesman of Dana Air, Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, stated; “Our operations have been suspended as advised by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), in order to undergo a full operational audit with effect from midnight, 20th July, 2022.
Operational audits are regulatory and airlines are obligated to suspend their operations when the NCAA calls for it and we understand the impact this suspension will have on our partners, staff, passengers and the general public but we are very confident that we would come out stronger as we have done in the past.
“We wish to assure the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that we are fully ready and committed to cooperating with them in the course of this audit and to also reassure our customers and partners that we are safe, efficient and reliable.
“The recent skyrocketing cost of Jet A1 at 830/litre, unavailability of forex, inflation, are also contributory factors to this decision regrettably.
“We crave the understanding and patience of our customers, travel and business partners and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience our short absence from the market might cause.
“Our customer service team will continue to operate 24/7 to assist affected customers with necessary information on refunds and our offices will be open to all our existing partners”, Ezenwa added.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Dana Air, Mr Sukhjinder Paul Mann, last week resigned his appointment from the organisation
Mann took over the job from 22nd November, 2021 and was expected to work with the team to bring new perspective and fresh initiatives to the role, to further strengthen the management team.
Mr Mann, a Briton, had earlier worked with many leading commercial airlines in Africa and across the globe at a Senior Management and ‘C’ Level executive roles left the airline Friday, July 16, 2022.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
