Aero Contractors is about to resume flying operations after having suspended flight services for more than four months due to financial limitations, a lack of equipment capacity, and industry difficulties.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s Director General, Captain Musa Nuhu, claimed that the airline has been given the all-clear to begin flight operations following an audit.
Capt. Nuhu remarked in a Tuesday speech in Abuja: “Aero Contractors was not grounded based on safety issues, we did an audit of them because whatever audit you do, you have findings and they were all minor findings. We audited them and we found out that the issue they had was finance sustainability.
“Aviation is safety-sensitive and whenever you have financial difficulty, it is just a matter of time, you will not be able to comply with all the regulatory requirements and some may start cutting corners. So, before financial issue becomes safety issue, we had a discussion with them and they, on their own before we took any action, agreed with our findings and suspended their operations to enable them to reorganise and get some funding to get more equipment. That is what they have done. We sat with them, they submitted, we asked for projections, which they did, and we reviewed. The first one wasn’t good enough. They had to go and review it, and it was quite satisfactory. We had MoU with them for payment of outstanding five per cent on Ticket Sales Charge.
So, they are fine. As far as we are concerned, they can resume operations.’’
A flier that was distributed by an unidentified person went viral on Monday. According to the flyer, Aero’s first “coming back” flight was scheduled to depart Lagos for Abuja on December 5.
The flyer had a note that said, “Congratulations to all of us as our dear airline is set to recommence operations come 5th December 2022. As part of preparations, our website has been reactivated and flights uploaded to commence booking operations. Let the world know that our dear Aero Contractors is airborne again.”
Recall that due to financial difficulties the airline was experiencing, Aero Contractors management had ceased operations on July 20, 2022, until further notice.
