Immediate past Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi SirikaThe immediate past Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, unveiled an aircraft supposedly belonging to Nigeria Air amidst pomp last Friday, but a week after, the national carrier is yet to fly. Daily Trust on Sunday reports that tongues are wagging over what has become of the aircraft on display.
Where is Nigeria Air? This is a question on the lips of many Nigerians. Some have asked for the website of the new airline for flight bookings which is presently non-existent. But a check on the Ethiopian Airlines’ aircraft ET-APL which was unveiled on Friday last week showed the aircraft has returned to Ethiopian Airlines’ service.
On Thursday June 1st 2023 when our correspondent checked, the aircraft operated Addis-Ababa-Mogadishu and Mogadishu-Addis-Ababa flight. As the flight radar showed, the aircraft – a Boeing 737-860 – actually returned to ET service on May 31st 2023; four days after the aircraft returned from Abuja. The aircraft must have been on ground for four days to undergo the necessary repainting and checks prior to returning it to service after the Friday’s reception which was also welcome with a ceremonial water salute by officials of the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire-fighting Service unit of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
