Following many months of negotiations and paperwork, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Monday presented an Air Transport License (ATL) to the interim management of Nigeria Air.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Nigeria Air is the country’s proposed national carrier that is currently led by Captain Dapo Olumide.
An ATL certification is a document that states the kinds of operations a carrier will embark on scheduled, non-scheduled, cargo air services within and outside Nigeria.
Read Also: Nigeria Air Would Take Off By April 2022 – Aviation Minister
This licence precedes the Air Operator’s Certificate which empowers the airline to operate scheduled commercial flights.
The ATL signed by the Director-General of the NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, will run for a period of five (5)years from June 3rd, 2022 to June 2nd, 2027.
The new national airline is expected to provide scheduled and non-scheduled services. It is one of the licenses received by airlines before they can commence operation just as they await the all-important Air Operator Certificate (AOC) that fully guarantees them the right to begin air services.
Nigeria Air Limited, the country’s proposed national carrier had in April 2022 applied to the NCAA for a license to operate scheduled and non-scheduled passenger and cargo service.
Africa Today News, New York had last reported that Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, had announced that the national carrier, Nigeria Air is expected to take off unfailingly in April 2022.
This announcement came on the heels of the approval of the outline business case for the establishment of the national carrier by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday.
Sirika, who made the announcement in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting, pointed out that it was the sixth attempt to get the outline business case approved.
Hos words, ‘Today in Council, civil aviation presented two memoranda, the first one is approval for the award of contract for the provision of Automated Civil Aviation Regulatory Equipment, including software support and training, which will be located in Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
‘The next one also is approval of the outline business case for the establishment of the national carrier and this is the sixth time the memorandum appeared before Council. The sixth time, we got lucky to be passed by Council.’
‘The structure of the proposed airline, government will be owning not more than five percent. So, five percent is the maximum equity that government will take, then 46 percent will be owned by Nigerian entrepreneurs.
‘So, if you add that, it’s 51 percent. So, it’s 51 percent majority shareholding by Nigerians and then 49 percent will be held by strategic equity partner or partners that will be sourced during the procurement phase, which is the next phase,‘ the minister stated.
When the outline kicks off expectedly in April 2022, according to him, it will generate about 70,000 jobs in the first few years – a number higher than the aggregate number of employees in the Federal Civil Service workforce.