Senate Rejects Nigeria Air Revival, Calls For New National Carrier And Direct Nigeria-China Flights.
Senate on Tuesday rejected calls for the revival of contracts awarded for the controversial Nigeria Air project, describing further discussions on the failed national carrier initiative as unproductive.
It urged the federal government to explore alternative arrangements for establishing a Nigerian-owned airline.
The upper chamber also called for an urgent renegotiation and enforcement of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and China to enable Nigerian airlines to operate direct flights to the Asian country.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the position during plenary, after lawmakers debated a motion sponsored by Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), seeking to address the imbalance in flight operations between Nigeria and China countries. Although the lawmakers rejected the revival of the contracts associated with the failed Nigeria Air project, they maintained that Nigeria needed a national carrier capable of representing the country internationally and improving its participation in the global aviation market. Akpabio said the federal government should look beyond the failed Nigeria Air arrangement and consider establishing a national airline, recalling the operational capacity of the defunct Nigerian Airways. He lamented that the country had moved from operating a national airline with a sizeable fleet to depending largely on foreign carriers for international connectivity.
MSEApp News is publishing an original rewrite of this tip for readers, based on reporting associated with Arise News.