Arik, the airline with the largest fleet
in the country, will resume full operation wednesday after tuesday’s
suspension of operations due to its inability to renew its aircraft
insurance.
“We have resolved the issues relating to
the insurance. Our flights have resumed but our full operations will
start tomorrow. Two flights are already leaving to Port Harcourt and
Abuja this evening. We sincerely apologise to our clients,” Adebanji
Ola, its spokesman said in a statement.
In another statement, the Group CEO, Dr.
Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, apologised to its passengers and said the
airline was fully committed to normal operations and minimise any
unfortunate inconvenience to them.
“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 airline had tuesday afternoon
announced suspension of operations owing to difficulties in getting
approval for its aircraft insurance. “Arik Air, West and Central
Africa’s largest airline, has alerted all air travellers of a temporary
disruption to its operations, pending approval of aircraft documentation
related to insurance renewal,” the airline said in statement by Ola,”
adding: “we working around the clock to resolve the necessary
documentation, which has been a challenge due to the long weekend
holidays due to Ed-el-Kabir.”
The development left many passengers
stranded at airports across the country, many of whom were returning to
work after the Moslem festival.
According to international regulations,
aircraft could not be allowed to fly without insurance, which is done
for the total number of aircraft in the airline’s fleet.
The airline, however, said in another
statement that flight operations were resuming after 16 hours of
disruptions, apologising to its passengers across the country for the
inconvenience the suspension of operations might have caused them,
adding that it would get in touch with them to provide an update on
rescheduling of their flights.
“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,” the
airline said.
Arik is the third domestic operator to
suspend operations since the effect of the nation’s economic downturn
began to hit the aviation industry.
Aero Contractors and First Nation had
suspended operations two weeks ago, citing difficulties in procuring
forex for the maintenance of their fleet as their challenge.
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