The Federal Government on Wednesday lifted the suspension of the operating licence of Dana Airlines.

The government had on June 5, 2012 suspended the airline from operating its normal services two days after its Boeing McDonnell 83 plane crashed in Iju area of Lagos, killing 153 people on board and 10 on the ground.

The Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, said in a statement on Wednesday that the decision to lift the suspension followed “government’s satisfaction with the airworthiness of the airline after a rigorous technical, operational and financial audit of the airline.”

The statement issued by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister, Mr. Joe Obi, quoted Oduah as saying, “The Federal Government has lifted the suspension of the operating licence of Dana Airline. By this development, Dana Airline is free to resume its normal commercial flight operations.

“Government will, however, continue to strengthen its oversight and regulatory functions to ensure that all airlines operating in the country, including Dana, adhere strictly to safety procedures as required by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act and all other relevant local and international regulations that ensure and promote sustainable air safety.”

The minister said the operating licence of Dana was temporarily suspended following the crash of one of its aircraft on June 3 as a safety precaution.

Aviation stakeholders and experts had criticised the government over its decision to suspend the airline’s operations, arguing that it was wrong to stop the airline from flying since the government could not readily establish any act of negligence against it.

Meanwhile, the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, on Wednesday said Lloyds of London, which partly insured the ill-fated Dana plane, had issued cheques of $30,000 each as initial compensation to the families of 62 victims of the crash.

Demuren spoke at a joint press conference he addressed with the Deputy Commissioner, National Insurance Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Hassan, at the NCAA complex, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

The NCAA boss said Dana had yet to issue the initial $30,000 cheque to the remaining 91 victims of the crash because of bottlenecks in the identification of some bodies, as well as cases of multiple claims by families of some victims.

He also gave a hint that lawyers to the families of about 20 foreigners involved in the crash could not be readily paid the $30,000 because their families had sued Dana in their respective countries.

The regulatory authority boss said NCAA and NAICOM would continue a meeting with officials of Lloyds of London, who are currently in the country, later on Wednesday evening to finalise discussions on how the compensations would be fully settled.

According to Demuren, the process of paying the final $70,000 compensation will commence as soon as the encumbering issues are clarified on the initial $30,000 compensation.

A total of 25 foreigners from nine countries were involved in the crash, according to Dana officials. The 25 foreigners were from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, China, Indonesia, India, Lebanon and Germany.

Airlines currently doing domestic operations in the country are Aerocontractors Airlines, Arik Air, IRS Airlines and Overland Airways.

via Punch

 

Posted by admin on Sep 6 2012. Filed under Aviation, Latest Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry