The management of Nigeria Air has disclosed that it borrowed a plane from Ethiopian Airlines in order to debut the new logo.
According to Nairametrics, the acting managing director of Nigeria Air, Capt. Dapo Olumide, revealed this on Tuesday in Abuja when he testified before the Senate Committee on Aviation.
The management decided it was time to demonstrate what the real aircraft will look like likewise and to let shareholders see, he said, noting that since 2018, all Nigerians have seen about Nigeria Air were photos and sketches instead of the actual aircraft.
Capt. Dapo Olumide stated that the procedures were still in the early stages and that Nigeria Airlines had not yet obtained an operating permit for full flying operations.
He disclosed that the plane was rented and used to complete the tasks necessary to run the airline.
The committee’s chairman, Sen. Biodun Olujimi, claimed that the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, failed to carry the committee members along despite the respect shown to him.
In an effort to reveal the Nigeria Air logo to Nigerians and company shareholders, he stressed that the charter flight from Ethiopian Airlines was legal.
“The plane that arrived and departed was an authorized charter flight.
“Anyone of us here can rent an aircraft if we have a destination wedding in Senegal.
“You don’t need a license to do that; all you have to do is charter an airplane that you paid for, have it flown here, load it with passengers, and take off.
“And we took that action, although, in this instance, it was to reveal the Nigeria Air Logo.”
He added that since 2018, all people have ever seen of Nigeria Air has been images and sketches rather than actual aircraft, therefore they decided it was time to reveal what the actual aircraft will look like while also allowing shareholders to view it.
Additionally, he pointed out that the corporation has institutional investors who are not aviation enthusiasts but have money locked in for ten years and needed to see how the aircraft will appear.
“We brought it in here to demonstrate the appearance of the airplane, but later, the social networking component was added.
“Before the NCAA will issue us a license, we must, among other things, have three airplanes which must be registered in Nigeria and that is my responsibility.
At the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, the House of Representatives criticized the procedure that led to the establishment of Nigeria Air and called it a fraud.
This information was provided by the chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, during a Tuesday investigative hearing with members of the Ministry of Aviation and airline operators of Nigeria.
Nnaji branded the establishment of Nigeria Air as a scam after the key players in the agreement between the Federal Government and Ethiopian Airlines denied knowledge of the launch.
