Arik Air Resumes Domestic Flights on Sunday as CBN bars Nigerian Airlines from Bank Loans
 Arik Air the largest carrier in West Africa | AFP Sepember 22, 2012 Nigeria's largest airline Arik Air has said it will resume its domestic flights on Sunday. The airline had cancelled domestic flights on Thursday, accusing aviation officials of trying to stop passengers flying. Hundreds of passengers were stranded in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos. However, the company issued a statement on Saturday saying meetings had been held with government officials and that the dispute had now been resolved. On Thursday, Arik Air said officials from the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had blocked check-in counters and chained doors leading to a boarding gate. The exact cause of the dispute is not clear, but there had been reports that Arik Air owed FAAN unpaid airport fees, which a company spokesman denied. The airline had also cited government corruption as making conditions impossible to operate in. However, the company's statement on Saturday said that it was "happy to put what has happened behind us", the AFP news agency reports. |
September 21, 2012
In the meantime Nigeria's Central Bank has barred the nation's top two airlines from receiving any additional loans over their massive outstanding debts, an official said Friday, as passengers were stranded by the nation's aviation industry crisis in which its largest carrier grounded all its domestic flights. Arik Air Ltd owes the state-run Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria more than $534 million, according to information released by the Central Bank. Aero Contractors Co. of Nigeria Ltd., the airline of choice for many of the foreign oil companies working in Nigeria, owes more than $203 million to the state-run company, according to the Central Bank.
Ugo A. Okoroafor, a Central Bankspokesman, told The Associated Press on Friday any bank that gave companies or individuals on the list loans would face serious fines from the government. While acknowledging the struggles of the airline industry, the spokesman said the bank could not allow massive debts to pile up on the nation's banks and threaten the financial market. "Adverse consequences exist for people who take part in such unhealthy acts," Okoroafor said.
No comments from both airlines……
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