Dana Air was on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, suspended from commercial operations indefinitely.
In view of the suspension, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said Dana Air is no longer in place to sell tickets to travellers, adding that safety measures and lack of ability to meet its financial obligations were responsible for this development.
“The suspension was made pursuant to Section 35(2), 3(b), and (4) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3(a)(1) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (http://Nig.CARs), 2015.
“The decision is the outcome of a financial and economic health audit carried out on the airline by the authority, and the findings of an investigation conducted on the airline’s flight operations recently, which revealed that Dana Airlines is no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations.
“The NCAA acknowledges the negative effect this preemptive 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,” NCAA stated.
However, while the aviation industry regulator cited financial crisis among the reasons to have suspended Dana Air, BizWatch Nigeria highlights below other incidents that influenced the decision.
Dana Air’s safety concerns
Many people have lost confidence in Dana Air since 2012, which was when the company’s McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft suffered a dual-engine failure. Then, crashed afterward, leaving no less than 159 people dead.
With about 159 casualties, the 2012 plane crash remains the deadliest commercial airliner crash in Nigerian history since the Kano air disaster in 1973.
Aside from the 2012 incident, this year along (2022), Dana Air has caused panic among travellers at least twice. First, it was in Port Harcourt in May when Flight 9J344 with registration number 5N JOY was engulfed by fire.
More so, just recently, Dana Air’s Boeing 737 aircraft with the registration number (5N DNA) recently made an emergency landing in Abuja.
