Arik Air Joins Aero, Firstnation, Suspends Flight Operations

Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline on Tuesday alerted air travelers of a temporary disruption to its operations, pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal.

The development comes two weeks after two other national carriers, Aero Contractors and FirstNation, suspended operations on August 31 and September 1, respectively. The airline (Arik Air) said that it was working around the clock to resolve the necessary documentation, which has been a challenge due to the long weekend holidays due to Ed al Adha.

“At the present time, all flights of the airline have been cancelled for Tuesday, 13 September 2016 and the airline has stated that it would be getting in touch with passengers to provide an update on rescheduling of their flights.

This situation is likely to continue for the next few days until such time that NAICOM (National Insurance Commission) approves a waiver on a priority basis for the new insurance company to renew the policy.

“All customers are kindly advised to contact Arik Air’s Call Centre (01-2799999), Airport or City ticket offices or visit the airline’s Website (www.arikair.com) for further updates. Passengers are also advised to check with the airline regarding the status of their flights before proceeding to the airport”, Jide Alade said in a statement by the the airline.

He said Arik Air’s Group CEO, Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, wishes to advise and assure the public, its customers, stakeholders and partners that ‘we are fully committed to returning to our normal operations and minimize any unfortunate inconvenience to our passengers.

“Where flights have been cancelled, the airline will notify passengers through SMS and in such cases, passengers will be accommodated on first available alternative flight as soon as normal flight operations resume. He said the Group CEO has apologised and appealed (on behalf of the airline) for the understanding of passengers while it works diligently to resume normal operations at the earliest.

Arik Air is Nigeria and West Africa’s largest airline and operates mainly from two hubs at Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja. The airline operates close to 120 daily flights from its hubs in Lagos and Abuja, and has been West & Central Africa’s fastest growing airline for the past nine years.

The suspension of flight operations by Arik Air came two weeks after two other national carriers, Aero Contractors and FirstNation, suspended operations on August 31 and September 1, respectively.

While Aero blamed a difficult business environment for its decision to close down and sent staff on indefinite leave, FirstNation said it wanted engineers to carry out a routine maintenance of its fleet.