The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has announced the suspension of Dana Airlines’ Air Transport Licence, ATL, and Air Operator Certificate, AOC, indefinitely, with effect from midnight of Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
According to the regulatory, 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.
The suspension order, handed down by the Director-General, Captain Musa Nuhu, has since been communicated to the management of Dana Airlines.
Nuhu said: “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 acknowledges the negative effect this preemptive decision will have on the airline’s passengers and the travelling public and seeks their understanding, as the safety of flight operations takes priority over all other considerations.”
We’ll come back stronger—Dana Air
Reacting to the suspension, yesterday, Dana affirmed that its Air Transport Licence, ATL, and Air Operator Certificate, AOC, had been suspended indefinitely but said it would come back from the suspension stronger.
The airline said it “understands 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.”
Dana further assured the NCAA that it was fully ready and committed to cooperating with the aviation authority in the course of the audit.
The airline also reassured its customers and partners that they were safe, efficient and reliable.
“The recent skyrocketing cost of Jet A1 at N830/litre, unavailability of forex, inflation are also contributory factors to this decision regrettably.
“We crave the understanding and patience of our customers, travel and business partners and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience our short absence from the market might cause,” Dana Airlines stated.
