Federal Govt Mulls Using Dana Air Assets To Offset Debts— Keyamo

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has stated that the federal government may utilise Dana Air’s assets to refund trapped funds of passengers, airline travel agents, and other debts owed by the airline.

The minister also stated that he would direct the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to investigate why funds trapped by the airline have yet to be refunded.

Keyamo, who stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at the ministry’s fourth-quarter stakeholder engagement, noted that the government suspended the airline’s operations as a safety procedure, as it had to choose between safety and disaster.

Recall that the NCAA suspended Dana Air’s operations indefinitely starting from July 20, 2022. The suspension was due to the outcome of a financial and economic health audit, which revealed that the airline was no longer able to meet its financial obligations and conduct safe flight operations.

The NCAA emphasised elevated safety concerns and the airline’s inability to maintain proper safety standards as the main reasons for this decision. The suspension also followed findings from investigations into the airline’s flight operations, which underscored safety and economic issues that needed resolution.

The NCAA had said the airline’s suspension was in line with the Civil Aviation Act and followed a thorough safety and economic audit that was mandated for the airline.

Additionally, a related suspension was noted to have been imposed on April 24, 2024, after a runway incident involving one of Dana Airlines’ planes. This suspension was also a precautionary step to allow for further safety and economic audits.

On actions to be taken to recover the trapped funds, Keyamo noted: “For Dana, the problem is that it was a choice between safety and disaster. So, we didn’t prioritise the commercial aspect. The priority was safety, and we all reviewed the damning reports that were on the table.

“The NCAA decided to suspend them, but I pushed them to say, look, these are the reports we are seeing on the table about safety records, about lack of standards that put the lives of Nigerians at risk. If they had continued flying, I don’t know whether most of us would be here. Many of us would have been victims of one of those flights. God forbid.”

He further stated, “I have asked Captain Najomo to dig deep to find out how those passengers and agents will be refunded. He has to dig deep on that.

“One solution will also be that if that same individual or those entities are trying to come back to aviation under any guise, whether to go and register a new AOC or use any business within the aviation sector, they have to go and settle their debts first.

“We should look at their assets. There are still assets available. Let them sell their assets. Let’s get their revenue and pay people. Let’s find a way to pursue their assets and obtain the funds to compensate Nigerians who are owed. NCAA should do that because they can’t get away with it.”