Aviation crisis: FirstNation suspends operations

Another airline, FirstNation, has also suspended all flight operations. This is coming less than 24 hours after Nigeria’s oldest airline, Aero Contractors closed shop.

FirstNation claims it is suspending operations pending the arrival of its aircraft that are on C-Checks abroad.

The airline, which commenced scheduled flight operations in 2011, it was gathered, suspended all flight operations about a week ago.

A source close to the airline said that two of the three Airbus319-200 in the airline’s fleet have gone for C-Checks several months back and are yet to return.

It was gathered that the airline’s ticket counters had folded up for over a week while its ticket website too has not been functional.

However, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), on Thursday, dismissed claims in some quarters that some of the airlines are winding down their operations.

A statement personally signed by the Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman insisted that contrary to the claim, both Aero Contractors and FirstNation Airways were “merely suspending their operations temporarily to enable them undertake certain operational overhaul and strengthen their overall operational outlay.”

Usman said that one of the airlines, Aero Contractors Ltd., at present has only one serviceable aircraft in its fleet, saying that this was in contradiction to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, Nig.CARS, which stipulated that no airline operator should carry out schedule commercial operation with only one aircraft.

NCAA said that the minimum acceptable number of aircraft in any airline’s fleet should be three aircraft.

The statement added, “In other words, any airline with one aircraft is in contravention of the Authority’s regulations therefore cannot be adjudged to be capable of providing safe operation. The only option available is to suspend your operations temporarily while other aircraft arrive in due course.

“However, NCAA’s regulation provides a window for such operator to embark on non-schedule operations in the interim.

“The FirstNation Airlines on its part is in the middle of an Engine Replacement Programme for one of its aircraft. Another aircraft is due for mandatory maintenance as its allowable by the Regulatory Authority.”