AIR Nigeria has announced the suspension of all its operations — local, regional and international — with effect from Monday, September 10 for at least one year.
Air Nigeria is the rebranded name of Virgin Nigeria Airways after being taken over by Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, the notorious businessman.
The suspension, according to the management of the airline, is due to staff disloyalty and environmental tension, “which are not conducive for business in the aviation sector.”
The airline regretted any inconvenience the decision would cause its passengers on all the routes and advised them to contact agents from whom they had purchased tickets for refunds.
The chairman of the airline, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim has been accused of receiving N39.3bn out of the N300bn government Aviation Intervention Fund meant to upgrade the airline's fleet but diverted the money to other uses.
Reacting to the development, Ibrahim said it was difficult to continue further investment in the airline, with the level of disloyalty on the part of the staff and weak business environment.
“But we are strongly committed to ensuring that Air Nigeria survives,” he added.
He said about 50 loyal staff from various departments of the airline had been selected with a mandate to recommence business within 12 months, while other members of staff had been relieved of their employment, effective from the last day of work on their various routes.
Ibrahim thanked the stakeholders for their support in the last two years of the operation of Air Nigeria under the new management.
He said the suspension of all the operations of the airline was not unusual as, according to him, “corporations are like individuals who naturally will get sick and the usual thing to do is to admit them to hospitals, either for corporate surgery or for treatment, as the case may be.”
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