Dana Air on Thursday said it welcomes the resolve of the Nigerian government to carry out a complete audit of its operation.
The Federal Government on Wednesday ordered a complete audit of the operations of the airline, following recent near-mishaps involving the airline.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how in February, one of the exit doors of the airline’s plane fell off upon landing at Abuja airport, while another flight overshot the runway at Port Harcourt, Rivers State. In both cases, the airline said it did nothing wrong.
The decision for the audit was taken, Wednesday, at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) which held inside the council chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
On Thursday, Kingsley Ezenwa, the airline’s spokesperson said it thanked the Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, for releasing the preliminary report on the Port Harcourt runway incident involving one of its aircraft.
He said, “Excerpts of the reports confirmed that the Air Traffic Control, an arm of the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency that is saddled with the responsibility of issuing instructions that the pilots are required to obey, had cleared the pilot in command to land.
“It is pertinent to note that the pilot of that flight is a happily married man and a proud father of three beautiful children. He has over 30 years experience in the aviation industry and is one of the very best in his profession, meticulous in his duties, and headhunted from another domestic airline where he also served as the head of safety and quality standards.
“Considering the safety measures that we have put in place and our huge investment in training and retraining of our crew and pilots, we decided not to join issues, but to rather wait on the report of the AIB, the authentic body responsible for such investigations.”
In 2013, the statement said, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and its foreign partners, the Flight Safety Group, carried out an audit on the airline’s operations. In 2016, the statement said further, as a result of the airline’s commitment to global safety standards, it applied to become a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), went through their audit and subsequently became a member in 2016.
“We therefore welcome the recent audit ordered by the federal government and we are willing to work with the team and the FG to demonstrate our commitment not just to flying but to flying safe,” Mr. Ezenwa said.
“We wish to thank the Honorable Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who has proven himself as a technocrat, and our esteemed guests for keeping faith with us while the incident was under investigation and we wish to reassure our guests of our commitment towards providing safe, reliable and affordable air transport.”
