Nigerian carrier Arik Air says it has taken the decision to temporarily suspend its domestic services, following “the unwarranted actions of the Ministry of Aviation and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to disrupt our domestic operations and our customers”.
The BBC has reported passengers being stranded at Lagos airport, over a dispute regarding unpaid payments to the authority.
The carrier’s director of operations called the claims of unpaid airport fees “fictitious”, and Arik Air has provided the following statement to Business Traveller:
“Arik Air’s Executive Board has taken the decision to temporarily suspend all domestic operations. This follows the unwarranted actions of the Ministry of Aviation and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to disrupt our domestic operations and our customers yesterday.
“International and regional flights are still fully operational and remain unaffected.
“Arik Air continues to meet our obligations under agreed payment arrangements with FAAN. Any other suggestion is simply not true.
“We are fully committed to resolving this disagreement and restoring domestic flights as soon as possible.”
It’s another blow to the beleaguered Nigerian aviation industry, following Air Nigeria’s decision to stop all operations earlier this month (see online news September 11).
For more information visit arikair.com.
Report by Mark Caswell