During the National Aviation Stakeholders Forum 2023 held in Abuja, Hadi Sirika, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, announced that the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air, would commence operations before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The airline’s launch had been postponed due to the controversy surrounding its ownership structure, which resulted in a court order preventing the federal government from implementing the project.
Sirika revealed that the latest proposed date for the airline’s take-off is within the next two months, and that the project is 98 percent completed.
The minister expressed his satisfaction with Ethiopian Airlines (ET) consortium, which emerged as the winner of the bidding process for Nigeria Air, despite his initial hopes of partnering with airlines such as Emirate, Lufthansa, and Qatar Airways.
Sirika stated that the airline would be operational before May 29th, the end of the current administration.