FG unveils Nigeria Air as new national carrier

The Federal Government has unveiled the name and logo for the national carrier that would be launched at the end of this year.

The name; ‘Nigeria Air’ was unveiled by the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom on Wednesday.

The event had in attendance, stakeholders, aircraft manufacturers, prospective investors and Nigerian government delegation including the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Transportation, Sabiu Zakari.

Others who were in attendance include; Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation Senator Adamu Aliero, and Chairperson, House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.

According to a statement by the Deputy Director, Media and Public Affairs of the ministry, James Odaudu, the government came up with the name after it engaged over 400,000 people on social media.

Speaking after the unveiling, Sirika, said: “I am very pleased to tell you that we are finally on track to launching a new national flag carrier for our country: Nigeria Air.

“We are all fully committed to fulfilling the campaign promise made by our President, Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. We are aiming to launch Nigeria Air by the end of this year.

“I want to personally thank our Transaction Advisers, led by AMG, and the special Task Force, who have worked diligently to achieve the results so far and overcome the challenges involved.

“We obtained the Certificate of Compliance from the Nigerian Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) two weeks ago and can now go into the investor search. I am confident that we will have a well-run national flag carrier, a global player, compliant to international safety standards, one which has the customer at its heart.

“We hope to establish an airline that communicates the essence of our beautiful country, an airline we can all be proud of”, he said.

On how it came up with thr name and livery for the carrier, the minister said: “Following extensive market research, the branding of our new airline, Nigeria Air, demonstrates a true flag carrier of our nation, soaring through the skies in the shape of our nation’s eagle.”

“The branding and naming of the new national carrier comes on the back of a social media campaign undertaken under the auspices of The Ministry of Transportation (Aviation) which invited Nigerian youth and students for their input and creativity to come up with a name for the new Nigerian flag carrier.

“The Facebook page and websitenameyourairlinenigeria engaged over 400,000 people up until the deadline for submissions, which was on 25th June 2018.

“In addition, detailed and extensive market research was commissioned by the Ministry of Transportation (Aviation), which involved focus groups across Nigeria and over 100 interviews with aviation stakeholders and professionals, politicians, Nigerian business owners, students and a broad spectrum of people across Nigeria.”

He said the research concluded that Nigeria is a proud nation with diverse populace, a strong cultural heritage and a people that are hungry for a unifying national flag carrier.

Sirika also said that the Nigerian Government will support the launch of the new flag carrier with viability gap funding, in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to deliver a national flag carrier, guided by the international ICAO standards that will stand the IOSA audit from the start, and lead to a fast IATA membership for international operation.

He assured Nigerians and the international community that government had learnt a lot of lessons from the experience of the defunct Nigeria Airways, and now determined not to repeat the mistakes that led to its demise.

This, he said, informed the decision to take the Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach.

The Minister also explained that the unveiling of the airline at the Farnborough International Airshow was cognisant of the fact that being the largest congregation of global aviation industry players, the event affords the best opportunity to market the airline to prospective investors and register it in the minds of all stakeholders ahead of its formal launch billed to take place in Abuja before the end of the year.

He also the Ministry was also currently running an aviation road map that includes airport concessions, Aerotropolis, an aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Center, agro allied terminals, the National Carrier and an aircraft leasing company.