THE Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended Dana Airlines’ Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) indefinitely, with effect from the midnight of Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
According to a letter signed by the NCAA Director-General, Captain Musa Nuhu, the suspension was made pursuant to Section 35(2), 3(b) and (4) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3(a)(1) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), 2015.
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The statement said the decision came as a result of an economic health audit conducted by the industry regulator and communicated to the airline’s management.
It read, “The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended Dana Airlines’ Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) indefinitely, with effect from midnight of Wednesday, 20th July, 2022.
“The decision is the outcome of a financial and economic health audit carried out on the airline by the Authority, and the findings of an investigation conducted on the airline’s flight operations recently, which revealed that Dana Airlines is no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations.”
The NCAA, while noting the effect of this decision on the airlines’ customers, sought the understanding of the travelling public, stressing that “the safety of flight operations takes priority over all other considerations.”
Dana Air acknowledged the decision in a statement it released in the evening of July 20, 2022.
Its statement read, “Our operations have been suspended as advised by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) in order to undergo a full operational audit, with effect from the midnight of 20th July, 2022.
“Operational audits are regulatory and airlines are obligated to suspend their operations when the NCAA calls for it and we understand the impact this suspension will have on our partners, staff, passengers and the general public but we are very confident that we would come out stronger as we have done in the past.
“We wish to assure the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that we are fully ready and committed to cooperating with them in the course of this audit and to also reassure our customers and partners that we are safe, efficient and reliable.”
The airline stated that the recent skyrocketing cost of aviation fuel at N830 per litre, scarcity of the fuel, unavailability of foreign exchange and inflation were the contributory factors to this decision.
It promised to work with the customer service desk to make refunds to customers where possible.
Just yesterday, the airline was involved in an emergency landing incident at Abuja.
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