United Nigeria Airlines Targets Regional, Int’l Flight

After getting listed on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry, United Nigeria airlines said, in no distant time, it will commence regional and international flight operations.

This was disclosed by the chief operating officer, United Nigeria Airlines, Maxi Osita Okonkwo, at the presentation of the IOSA award to the airline by the representatives of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), West and Central Africa, Dr Samson Fatokun, at the airline’s office in Lagos.

Okonkwo disclosed that, the airline getting the IOSA certificate less than two years after it started operation, is one steps towards the airlines’ long term objectives of going regional and international.

He further stated that, being on IOSA register was a necessary condition and requirement for going international, saying, the process was an eye opener.

To him, “it was a serious process that open up our eyes to many things and this is one step towards our long term objectives because we have plans of going regional and international and being on IATA register is a necessary condition and requirement. We are happy and we definitely want you to watch this space as we made further announcement in weeks and months to come.

“IOSA audit programme was a very serious one, and it opened our eyes to so many things so many things. It’s a privileged and also a responsibility all put together and we manage to go through that and we became successful. We thank our team especially those that worked so many hours, days and months to get us to where we are today. We also thank IATA and the audit team that came from different parts of the world.”

“When we started operation from day one, we made this part of our programs and out chairman said anything we need to do to be internationally recognised, to be in IATA register, we should do it within two years of our operations and I can tell you that we achieved that before two years of starting operations, however, it won’t have been easy without support from the stakeholders, regulators,” Okonkwo stated.

Also speaking, the IATA representative in West and Central Africa, Dr Samson Fatokun, disclosed that, United Airlines, joined list of few airlines in the sub-region on IOSA’s registry.

According to him, six airlines from Nigeria are on the IOSA register, thereby, making Nigeria the only country in Africa with highest IOSA certificate.

He, however, advised the airline operator that maintaining the presence in the registry is tough and demanding as most airlines find it tough to maintain their status.

Fatokun said: “it’s a great opportunity for us at IATA to present the prestigious IOSA certificate to any airline because we know what it takes to acheive that feat and as you said, in less than two years of your operation, you are already at this level where you can be said to have adhered to the global safety standard at it best. That is a great acheivement and we will like to congratulate you for acheiving this and we also say congratulation to the team that worked.

“It’s a good acheivement but maintaining yourselves there is tougher and more demanding. we have airlines getting there and not being able to maintain their stay. We can’t expect anything less than this and you have done very well. IOSA is a means and an end to go to higher level like IATA membership and lot more.

“We have very few airlines in West and Central Africa region that are on the IOSA registry at the moment and you are one of the few and for an airline that came onboard in less than 2 years, that is very good and we hope you will be able to sustain that. In Nigeria, we have six airlines that are on the IOSA registry and it’s by far the only country in Africa that have this number of IOSA member airlines. there is no other country in Africa not even South Africa. I want to congratulate Nigerian operators”

Fatokun, however, disclosed that, IOSA audit complement the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), safety audit and not to rival it.

“IOSA supports the regulator, the NCAA, we are working together for only one goal, which is safety which is our number one priority. Working with NCAA, the local regulator to acheive this, we can see the result interm of safety on our flight and safety record as a country so IOSA dosen’t come to take over from them but to support each other.

“It’s a symbiotic relationships to make sure that the same procure of having our flight safe is achieved. It also mean you are as good as other international carriers because we give same standard and rigours interm of safety,” he concluded.