Launch of Nigeria Air put on hold for now after court orders suspension of all action

PLANS by Nigeria's federal government to float the national carrier Nigeria Air have been put on hold for the time being after a Lagos high court ruled that the programme should be suspended in a judgement on a suit filed by local airlines.

In 2018 at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK, aviation minister Senator Hadi Sirika announced plans to launch the national carrier Nigeria Air in December that year. It was to fly to 80 different destinations and would have had a fleet of 30 aircraft but the project was later scrapped after it was discovered that no budgetary provision had been made for the venture.

Since then, the Nigerian government has been desperately trying revive the project, wooing investors and foreign airlines to take out stakes in the venture. In April this year, former Virgin Nigeria Airways boss Captain Dapo Olumide was named as the interim managing director of Nigeria Air as plans to float the new airline with Qatar Airways as a major stakeholder were announced.

However, yesterday, a federal high court in Lagos stopped the establishment of the proposed national carrier, with Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ordering the federal government and domestic airlines to maintain the status quo in their suit relating to the establishment of airline.

He made the order pending the determination of the suit filed by the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and five others in the aviation industry. These included four other plaintiffs including Azman Air Services, Air Peace, Max Air, United Nigeria Airlines Company and Topbrass Aviation.

After series of legal arguments,, the judge ordered that the national carrier should be halted and subsequently adjourned the case till February 2023.  Also, a fresh suit was instituted by one of the chief executives of the domestic carriers, Captain Edward Boyo, seeking the name of the board of registered trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria to be removed from the suit on the grounds that members of the association did not agree to sue the federal government over the national carrier project.