National carrier project not abandoned – Minister

The Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika has said the national carrier, Nigeria Air, project is not abandoned and will be delivered as promised by the government.

Sirika, who disclosed this yesterday at the 7th Aviation Workers’ Week celebration held in Abuja, said the government was committed to establishing Nigeria Air.

Represented at the event by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Shehu Rabiu, the minister said “we have internal mechanisms that we have to address but I assure you that it will be actualized any moment from now and you will be part of the take off” he assured.

According to him, the national carrier will contribute a lot to the economy of the country and it is a dream of every Nigerian because of its economic advantage.

Sirika explained: “It is a revenue generation industry and we hope that when the national carrier starts, Nigeria will be fully represented globally” he noted, adding that the airline will create job opportunities in the country and beyond.”

Also commenting, the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority if Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Yadudu said countries develop their national carrier for economic advantage, opportunity for employment, and prestige, hence the need for Nigeria to prioritise owning her own.

The industry expert clarified further: “The national carrier would also create lots of employment for the new crop of pilots because pilot training is one of the things needed in the industry and we cannot have pilots that are not trained and when you have pilots that are not trained, they are almost like non pilots.

“For us to also have pilots flying, we need to have enough airlines and aircrafts. Without the national carrier, we have a lot of airlines that do not have the cloud or capacity of a national carrier. So, the pilots we have now are generally unemployed because they do not have the experience. The younger ones are not experienced.”

Flying is a profession that the more you fly, the more you get experience, the more seniority and the more accomplished you get. So, the new ones need the pedestal for them to launch their carriers and they do not have enough right now” Yadudu added.

This year’s aviation week has the theme: ‘Contributions of a national carrier to the socio-economic development of Nigeria’.