Nairametrics| First Nation Airlines yesterday announced that it had suspended flights to Kaduna. According to the statement, the reason for this move was a “drop in the number of passengers flying to Kaduna”. To back up this claim, the management said that the airline would resume the Kaduna-Abuja routes after the reopening of the Abuja Airport on March 28, Vanguard reports.
These are 3 facts about the suspension that have come to light.
- First Nation had been operating just one aircraft on the Kaduna-Abuja route initially. This aircraft has been taken for maintenance due to a technical fault. Thus, number of passengers aside, the route would have been suspended any way.
- The airline lacked sufficient flight crew and thus had to suspend operations. This was exposed by the General Manager, Public Relations, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye who also confirmed the flight suspension.
- Contrary to some reports, the airline was not grounded by the NCAA but had to “re-program its schedule due to lack of resources” as noted from the comments of the airline’s Director of Flight Operations, Capt. Chimara Imediegwu.
Given these fresh facts, the tendency to solely blame the closure of the Abuja Airport for the airline’s flight suspension is significantly reduced, as evidently, the airline has internal issues to deal with. This continues a rhetoric of the troubles the nation’s aviation sector suffers as more local airlines are becoming distressed.