Nigeria Air To Begin Operations In October

Nigeria Air will start flying 15 domestic routes and then expand to West African cities as well as international routes including London, New York, and Shanghai.

Nigeria Air, will start with a combination of two wide-bodied planes and six narrow-bodied aircraft, Mesfin Tasew, chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

“The airline will begin operation with two wide-bodied planes and six narrow-bodied aircraft. We are eager to see the airline start flying and connecting the local market to the international market.

“Ethiopian Airlines will manage the operation. It is a proven model and the objective is to enable Nigeria to have a flag carrier. The prime objective is to enable Nigeria to have an air carrier. Ethiopian Airlines will have a management contract. Effectively, Ethiopian Airlines will manage the airline to be successful.

“We owns a 49 percent stake in the airline, the Nigerian government 5 percent together while other institutional investors own the rest.”

Tasew expressed optimism based on the size of the Nigerian economy and the potential inherent in it.