Nigeria’s new national carrier to take off by March 2022

A new national carrier will commence operations by the first quarter of 2022, the Nigerian government has announced.

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made this known on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

The meeting was presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo as President Muhammadu Buhari is away in Paris, France for a four-day event.

Sirika said the private sector-run airline would be in operation by early 2022.

The government had claimed it would not own more than 5% of the airline, ceding control to private investors expected to invest $300 million in the new airline at inception.
The name and logo of Nigeria Air were unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom in July 2018.

After so much publicity surrounding the launch of the carrier, the aviation minister tweeted on September 19, 2018 that plans for the airline had been suspended.

“I regret to announce that the Federal Executive Council has taken the tough decision to suspend the National Carrier Project in the interim. All commitments due will be honoured. We thank the public for the support as always,” he had said.