The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Wednesday suspended the Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Dana Airlines indefinitely.
The NCAA Director-General, Musa Nuhu, announced this in a statement Wednesday night.
The DG stated that the suspension of the operations of the airlines would take effect from midnight of Wednesday.
He added that the decision was the outcome of a financial and economic health audit carried out on the airline by the regulatory authority.
According to Nuhu, the findings of an investigation conducted on the airline’s flight operations revealed that Dana Airlines was no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations.
“The NCAA acknowledges the negative effect this pre-emptive decision will have on the airline’s passengers and the travelling public and seeks their understanding, as the safety of flight operations takes priority over all other considerations,” the statement said.
The commercial airline in its communique affirmed that it “Understand the impact this suspension will have on our partners, staff, passengers and the general public but we are very confident that we would come out stronger as we have done in the past”.
Dana further assured the NCAA that it is fully ready and committed to cooperating with the aviation authority in the course of the audit.
The airline also reassured its customers and partners that they are safe, efficient and reliable.
“The recent skyrocketing cost of Jet A1 at 830/litre, unavailability of forex, inflation are also contributory factors to this decision regrettably.
“We crave the understanding and patience of our customers, travel and business partners and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience our short absence from the market might cause,” Dana Airlines entreated.
The air service provider , however, maintained that its customer service team would continue to operate 24/7 to assist affected customers with necessary information on refunds.
It also added that its offices would be open to all existing partners.