The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday announced the suspension of Dana Airlines operations indefinitely. The airline’s Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) has been withdrawn with effect from midnight of Wednesday, 20th July, 2022.

The authority noted that 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 which has since been communicated to the management of Dana Airlines follows the alleged inability of the airline to run safe operations.

According to the Director General of NCAA, Capt Musa Nuhu, “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.

In a statement reacting to the decision of NCAA, the airline assured the public of its readiness to cooperate with NCAA in the course of this audit

Spokesperson of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa noted that the recent skyrocketing cost of Jet A1 at N830/litre, unavailability of forex, and inflation are also contributory factors to the decision made by NCAA.

In his words he said, “We crave the understanding and patience of our customers, travel and business partners and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience our short absence from the market might cause.

“Our customer service team will continue to operate 24/7 to assist affected customers with necessary information on refunds and our offices will be open to all our existing partners,” Ezenwa stated.