We ’ve lost N18bn to NCAA’s suspension –Dana Air

[Mirror]

The Dana Air yesterday said that it had lost about N18 billion following the suspension of its operations by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The airline said that it lost an accumulative N14 billion to its grounding in 2012 while it also lost about N4 billion to the same suspension in 2013. It will be recalled that Dana Air operations were suspended on June 4, 2012, 24 hours after a crash in which 153 lives were lost onboard.

The airline's Air Operators' Certificate (AOC) was, however, restored to it by NCAA on January 4, 2013. Barely three months later, the Ministry of Aviation temporarily suspended the airline's operations for a few days before it was restored again.

Also on October 6, 2013 NCAA directed the management of the airline to immediately suspend its flight operations to allow for an "operational audit," which it said would be carried out immediately.

A statement issued yesterday by the airline's spokesman, Mr. Tony Usidamen, claimed that NCAA was yet to commence the audit despite promising to do so immediately after the grounding of its operations.

Usidamen stressed that despite the indefinite suspension of the airline, there had not been any clear direction from the regulator as to how the audit process would proceed, adding that the airline directed its Nigerian and expatriate workers to proceed on compulsory leave without pay, with a promise to recall them as soon as the audit is completed.

The statement reads in part: "It is now over 30 days since the NCAA directive was issued and the airline is open and ready for the audit.

It is worrisome that there is still no clear indication when the external auditors would commence the audit. The sincerity of NCAA's planned audit of the airline is now very much in doubt.

"The continuous grounding of Dana Air is causing untold hardship to the hitherto gain fully employed staff of the airline, and with NCAA's inaction regarding the audit, there appears to be no relief in sight to the sufferings of the airline's staff and their numerous dependants.