Despite a court order prohibiting it, the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, have protested against Nigeria Air’s planned launch before its May 29 inauguration.
On Thursday, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, an AON representative, made this information public.
His response was in response to the declaration made by Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, on Wednesday that a jet from Nigeria Air will arrive in the nation on Friday and start operating before May 29.
However, AON, which filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging the ownership structure of Nigeria Air, claimed that the minister’s comments and actions “are in flagrant disobedience of the orders of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, which halted the said moves by the minister to float the said airline until the determination of the substantive suit brought by AON against it.”
Okonkwo claimed that Nigeria Air, in which Ethiopia Airlines owns a significant share, will harm the economy of Nigeria and eliminate millions of current jobs.
Nigeria Air was announced by the government as a potential national carrier in July 2018. Several start-up dates have since passed without success.