Troubled Nigerian airline says London route not affected by latest suspension

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The privately-owned flag carrier Air Nigeria said on Friday the latest suspension of its operations by the regulatory Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) does not affect its flights on the Lagos-London route.

''Air Nigeria wishes to inform that the scheduled Lagos-London-Lagos flight operation is not affected by the temporary suspension directive of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Passengers are therefore encouraged to proceed with their confirmed itinerary while intending customers can make their reservations through all our sales channels,'' the airline said in a statement made available to PANA here.

On Thursday, the airline announced its operations have been suspended for the second time in as many weeks, over alleged financial instability.

The latest suspension came after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) sued the airline over unpaid 5 billion naira in back taxes (US$1=155 Naira).

The airline, Nigeria's second largest carrier with domestic, regional and international operations, was also grounded last week over safety concerns, after a strike by pilots and flight engineers. NCAA later cleared the airline to resume operations.

''Air Nigeria is committed to offering safe and secure flight operations at all times as just recently it was given a clean bill of health by the regulatory agency after a safety audit of its operations. We will continue to liaise with the relevant agencies to ensure that the suspension order is lifted as soon as possible,'' the airline said.

Air Nigeria, owned by Nigerian businessman Jimoh Ibrahim, emerged from the former Virgin Nigeria.
-0- PANA SEG 22June2012