The federal government has again assured that the indigenous airline- Nigeria Air ,will take off before the present administration winds down on May 29.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, gave the assurance while briefing state house correspondents on the preparation for the operations of the airline.
According to the minister, the aircraft’s infrastructure and crew are ready and only need final permission from the international civil aviation organization ICAO.
The minister has also assured airline workers that all problems concerning their minimum wage protests are being handled by relevant government authorities and ministries.
The minister also said that his ministry has received federal executive council permission for the purchase, installation, and commissioning of voice and data recorders in 9 airports throughout the country for a contract price of N9 billion.
The federal government had postponed the airline take-off twice over logistic and other challenges.
The minister said: “Nigeria Air Limited, I did say that we will get it going before the end of this administration and I have not withdrawn my words.
“We have everything in place, the aircraft are in place, the offices, operational centres, the staffing and everything that we need to have in place.
“We’re doing the last-minute checks and waiting for the issuance of the AOC and it will fly.
“It will fly and it will be for the benefit of this country, for the size of population, the travelling public and what it does to the economy, especially to tourism, to African integration and to the AU Agenda 2063.
“It’s a very important project and I must say it will happen before the end of our tenure in the next four weeks and two days.”
