Bisola David
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has halted all wet-leased aircraft operated by United Nigeria Airlines shortly after one of the airline’s planes on Sunday was diverted to Asaba International Airport instead of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Nairametrics reported that the top civil aviation regulatory body made the judgement on Monday and sent a letter to the airline’s chief operating officer, according to a source close to NCAA on Monday.
The source claimed that until the investigation into the Sunday incident, which involved one of the airline’s wet-leased aircraft in the fleet, was completed, all wet-leased aircraft used in airline operations would be suspended.
Following the incident on Sunday, reports surfaced that the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Musa Nuhu, summoned an emergency meeting of the agency. At that meeting, it was decided that the airline’s explanation was not acceptable to the authorities.
Additionally, a report from the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency Air Traffic Controllers revealed the airline’s assertion that the weather in Abuja was unfavourable at the time of the diversion.
United Nigeria Airlines has no fewer than two wet-leased Airbus A320-200 aircraft in its fleet.
In a wet-lease, an airline (the lessor) leases an aircraft, full crew, maintenance, and insurance to another airline or other kind of business operating as an air travel broker (the lessee); the lessor gets paid based on the number of hours the aircraft is operated.
According to the source, United Nigeria Airlines’ wet lease aircraft activities have been suspended by the NCAA. “We didn’t buy their explanation, which was that the bad weather in Abuja was the reason for the diversion to Asaba. Thus, we must make the bold decision to suspend any aircraft in their fleet that is being leased for a wet term.
“The aircraft will not be allowed to fly until an investigation is completed. This cannot be let to occur. The airline could have done more to educate its international crew members about Nigeria, as they are not native to the country. As a result, we are delaying them until after the investigation.”
Recall that on Sunday, United Nigeria Airlines flight NUA 0504, which was headed to Abuja from Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed Airport Two, was rerouted to Asaba International Airport.
The airline ascribed the diversion to unfavourable destination weather in a statement signed by the Head, Corporate Communications, Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu.
However, specialists in aviation disproved this assertion, stating that weather reports are sent to airlines or pilots every half an hour.
The airline insisted that the pilot of the aircraft was duly briefed and aware of the temporary diversion at all relevant times.
However, the airline said that after safely landing in Asaba, the cabin crew mispronounced a message, confusing the passengers.
“In the meantime, the aircraft has safely landed in Abuja following improvement in the destination weather,” the statement continued.
“United Nigeria Airlines is still dedicated to making sure all of its passengers are safe.”
Fly2Sky of Bulgaria delivered a wet-lease A320-200 to United Nigeria Airlines last month (F6, Sofia).
The airline plans to keep the aircraft in its fleet through March 31, 2024, in order to increase domestic capacity during the IATA winter season.
Fly2Sky said in a statement that LZ-FSA (msn 4247) will be headquartered in Nigeria and operate local flights as per the terms of the contract.
“We are thrilled to support United Nigeria Airlines’ winter operations by bringing our Airbus A320 LZ-FSA to the heart of Nigeria.
The chief commercial officer of Fly2Sky, Aleksandrs Gusevs, stated, “This collaboration is not only about expanding our business but also about strengthening ties with our partners in the African continent.”
