Abuja moots Nigeria Air debut in late 1Q22

The launch of Nigeria Air (Lagos), the nation’s new national carrier, has been postponed to the first quarter of 2022 following delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, says Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika. Speaking to reporters in Abuja following a meeting of the country’s Federal Executive Council (FEC), he said the government was committed to establishing a national carrier, but that initial plans for a 2021 debut had been delayed by the health crisis. However, he said, the project was “still in top gear” and more information would be available in the next few weeks. “We are coming back to the council, hopefully in the next two weeks, to present the memo on the national carrier. We went to the council to approve the outline business case for the carrier; then, the council raised some questions and asked us to go and look at the memo again and bring it back. So, once it comes back and the outline business case is approved by the council, we will go to the full business case which is now going to the market and establishing the national carrier,” he was cited by This Day and Vanguard newspapers. He said updates on the progress would be provided after the next presentation to the FEC. Sirika expressed optimism that prospects for the airline would be better in 2022 due to greater market recovery, adding that Nigeria had the market size to sustain a national airline, also keeping in mind the populations in West and Central Africa, which it would serve. As previously reported, the government is looking for a private/public sector partnership to establish the airline, first mooted in 2018. Private investors will drive the project by raising USD250 million, while the government will retain no more than a 5% shareholding. The document confirmed Sirika’s comments, indicating that the business case outline of the project had been completed, with the procurement phase slated as the next step. According to initial information, the new flag carrier would start with a domestic and regional airline service with a narrow-body fleet and early-on add international services to Europe and the US with B787s or A350s.