The minister of aviation, Festus Keyamo, has directed the Nigerian civil aviation authority (NCAA) to suspend Dana Air, pending the completion of an audit. This comes a day after one of the airline’s planes skidded off the Murtala Muhammed airport, Lagos runway.
In a letter to the NCAA director-general titled ‘immediate suspension of dana air pending safety and financial health audit’, the minister said the move was necessary to ensure safety and regulatory compliance.
The minister also ordered a comprehensive audit of the airline, encompassing all aspects of safety protocols, maintenance procedures, and financial health to ensure full compliance with the aviation sector’s regulations.
“As the supervisor overseeing our nation’s aviation safety and regulatory compliance, it has come to the Honourable Minister’s attention that recent incidents involving Dana Airline have raised serious concerns regarding both the safety and financial viability of their operations,
“In light of these incidents, arid with the paramount priority being the safety and well-being of our citizens and travellers, the Honourable Minister has directed that you immediately initiate the suspension of Dana Airline’s fleet until a comprehensive audit can be conducted.
“This audit should encompass all aspects of safety protocols, maintenance procedures, and financial health to ensure full compliance with our aviation regulations.”
“I trust in your expertise and diligence in carrying out this audit thoroughly and expeditiously. Please keep me informed of the progress and any significant findings throughout this process,”the letter, signed by the permanent Secretary to the ministry, Dr. Emmanuel Meribole, read, in part.
The incident on Tuesday had led the federal airports authority of Nigeria (faan) to temporarily shut down runway 18L/36R at the Murtala Muhammad airport in Lagos. For flight operations.
The runway was reopened on Wednesday morning after FAAN’s emergency response team evacuated and recovered the aircraft from the site.
FAAN’s director of public affairs and consumer protection, Obiageli Orah, announced this in a statement.
She said subsequently, comprehensive clearing operations were conducted to ensure the runway was free of any foreign object debris (FOD) that could impede flight safety.
