Nigeria Air to commence full Operation in October

There are signs that Nigeria Air, the new national carrier, may start operating in October.

According to Gistlover, Mesfin Tasew, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, confirmed the news in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

The controversy surrounding the launch of the airline by the previous administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari is present during the development.

Recall that in May 2023, 48 hours before the conclusion of the administration, Nigeria’s previous aviation minister Hadi Sirika launched the Air carrier with an aircraft.

However, Tasew stated in the interview that the airline will launch operations with six narrow-body aircraft and two wide-body aircraft.

“We can’t wait for the airline to take off and link the domestic and international markets.

“The operation will be run by Ethiopian Airlines. It is a tried-and-true model, and the goal is to provide Nigeria a national carrier.

“The main goal is to give Nigeria access to an airline. A management agreement will exist for Ethiopian Airlines. Ethiopian Airlines will effectively run the airline to achieve success.

“The Nigerian government and I jointly control 5% of the airline, while the remaining 49% is owned by other institutional investors.