AOC Of New ‘NG Eagle’ Airlines May Be Issued October

…AMCON assembling its aviation portfolio to set up NG Eagle

Anytime from now, a new airline, NG Eagle, an independent entity financed by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), we hear may get its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) next month, according to a source very close to the airline.

The source, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media because of the sensitivity of the matter, told our reporter that the carrier would operate as a separate entity from Arik Air. He equally stated that everything was going well in respect of the AOC with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which is the issuing authority.

He, however, did not disclose if the carrier would start operation immediately after it gets its certificate. “I can’t tell you that if everything goes well, NG Eagle could get its AOC next week. They have followed all the due processes to meet the requirements of the NCAA. It is a different entity from Arik Air,” he stated. One-time promising airline, Arik, has two fates awaiting it.

When we contacted Mr Jude Nwauzor, Head Corporate Communications Department AMCON to confirm the story, he said there was no official statement from AMCON yet regarding the AOC or NG Eagle. He promised to let us know once AMCON or the management of NG Eagle is ready to interface with the media.

AMCON has two options open to it in either sustaining the carrier in its epileptic state or outright liquidation to recoup the majority of the over N500 billion owed the assets managers by the carrier, which necessitated its take-over in February 2017. The issuance of AOC by the NCAA would pave the way for the much-awaited airline for Nigeria and one that could expand the airline space in Nigeria.

Activities for the airline’s take-off are gradually taking off as the promoters of the soon-to-be start-up carrier have already acquired three airplanes, secured offices at the Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 (MMA2), and other places including the recruitment of key personnel. There are indications that some workers of Arik Air have already been engaged in the airline and as such there are ongoing negotiations over severance benefits of staff of Arik before the new entity comes onboard. New Telegraph had exclusively reported in February 2020 a plan to set up a new carrier under the control of AMCON.

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