DEEP RECESSION! Another local airline suspends operations

Following the troubled Aero Contractor decision to shut down its operations in the country, another local airline, First Nation Airways has suspended its operations.

The decision, NEWSVERGE gathered was in accordance with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARS), which stipulates that no airline operator shall carry out scheduled commercial operation with only one aircraft.

FNA’s action followed Aero’s indefinite winding up of scheduled operations today which sent about 1, 800 staff into the labour market.

However, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said the airline “is in the middle of an engine replacement programme for one of its aircraft” adding that “another aircraft is due for mandatory maintenance as its allowable by the regulatory authority.”

The managing director of FNA, Mr. Kayode Odukoya confirmed the suspension to an online medium, Nigerianflightdeck.com, saying what was done was voluntary to ensure maintenance took place.

It would be recalled that FNA, which launched services in 2011, suspended its operations in June 2012 shortly after the crash of Dana Air aircraft in Lagos on June 3, 2013, because of problems with serviceability.

The airline, founded by and chaired by former MD/CEO of Bellview Airlines, Odukoya received its first three leased Airbus A320-200 aircraft in early April 2011. The three Airbus A320s were repossessed by a lessor, the Aviation Capital Group.