The Chief Executive Officer, Medview Airline Plc, Alhaji Muneer Bankole announced on Tuesday that the airline would begin flight operations on the Lagos-Dubai route on July 4. He also disclosed that the airline has acquired two additional planes to boost the fleet. He said Medview would soon take delivery of two aircraft, a B777 and a B737-800, to boost its fleet. Bankole who addressed journalists in Lagos said the operations would begin with two weekly flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays. He said the Dubai route had been in the plans of the airline for some time, and it had been able to conclude necessary arrangements with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Dubai and also received the necessary permit to commence the international operations.
“We will be honest to tell you that Dubai has been in the front burner for a couple of months; the rule of the game is that you need to have what it takes. “We have submitted the details, worked around the CAA, have gotten the permit, put the employees on ground and now we’re ready to open up the route. “Dubai frequency will start with Tuesdays and Saturdays, and London will increase to three/four; as you know, we operate on Sunday, Friday and Wednesday, and soon, with additional aircraft, we will increase the frequency,” Bankole said.
He said the airline, in the next two months, planned to spread its wings to the Francophone countries of Cote’ de Ivoire, Guinea and Senegal, having successfully launched operations to Anglophone countries on the West Coast. Bankole said that that Medview would soon deploy a B747 for Hajj operations because of the number of pilgrims. He said Saudi authorities had increased the number from 75,000 to 96,000, and the airline was making adequate preparation for the exercise. Medview Airline went public on Jan. 31 with the listing of its shares on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, and is billed to hold its Annual General Meeting next week.
