Nigeria’s Federal Government is set
to turn heavily indebted Aero Contractors Airline into the country’s national
carrier, photographs made available to P.M.NEWS show.Nigeria’s oldest
commercial airline will now be called the Nigerian Eagle and will be launched
by President Goodluck Jonathan once he returns from London, sources said.
One of Aero Contractors’ planes
with registration number 5N BLC has already been painted into Nigeria’s
national colours of green and white, a photograph shows.
The plane now resembles the
aircraft once used by Nigeria Airways, the mismanaged government airline that
crumbled years ago.
Sources said the government has
also bought ten new Embraer planes to flag off the new national carrier.The ten
Embraer aircraft will be added to the planes already in the fleet of Aero
Contractors Airline, the source said.
Critics have criticised the move
saying that Aero Contractors was so badly indebted that the Assets Management
Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, took it over last year, when the airline
couldn’t pay its debts.
They said with the takeover,
billions of naira borrowed from Nigerian coffers have been erased and nobody
has been held accountable for the big losses.
Besides, critics argue that
national airlines are no longer viable in the world as they are often being
mismanaged or abused.
The new national carrier to be
launched by President Goodluck Jonathan will be a privileged airline that will
receive waivers for virtually everything, the source said.”Arik Air will just
die because it won’t be able to compete.
The Nigerian Eagle will operate
from the General Aviation Terminal in Lagos,” the source said.
(P.M. NEWS)
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