The federal government of Nigeria has selected a consortium led by Ethiopian Airlines to help organize and launch its new flag carrier, Nigeria Air.
Ethiopian Airlines will control 49% of the shares in the new airline, while the Nigerian Sovereign Fund will control 46% and the Nigerian federal government the remaining 5%.
Nigeria Air (Lagos), the national flag carrier in the formative stage, received its Air Transport License (ATL) from the Nigerian government.
The Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) is expected to come in late July.
As previously reported, the formation of Nigeria Air was announced at the Farnborough Air Show in 2018.
The new airline is expected to be mostly privately owned.
The airline is targeting the third quarter of 2022 for its launch.
The government of Nigeria is seeking a strategic partner to help it launch its proposed new national carrier called Nigeria Air.
The government will not own more than 5% of the stock, with local entrepreneurs holding a 46% stake. The strategic partner would control the remaining 49% according to Reuters.
The new national carrier is targeted to launch in April 2022.
More from Reuters:
Aviation Minister of Nigeria Hadi Sirika made this announcement on social media:
I regret to announce that the Federal Executive Council has taken the tough decision to suspend the National Carrier Project in the interim. All commitments due will be honoured. We thank the public for the support as always.
The government of Nigeria has announced plans to launch a new flag carrier called Nigeria Air starting in December.
The plans for the new airline were announced at the Farnborough Airshow (below).
The new airline is proposing to operate Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on regional routes and Airbus A330s on long-range routes.
Images: Government of Nigeria.
Video:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fla_XMHxQSo&w=560&h=315%5D