The Federal Government may recover and sell the assets of Dana Air to refund passengers and travel agents whose funds remain trapped following the suspension of the airline’s operations, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has disclosed.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Ministry’s fourth-quarter stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja, themed “Leveraging Public Feedback to Drive Excellence in Aviation Services,” Keyamo said the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would be directed to investigate why the airline has yet to refund affected funds.
Keyamo explained that the suspension of Dana Air’s operations was a decision prioritising safety over commercial interests.
“For Dana, the problem is that it was a choice between safety and disaster. So we didn’t take the commercial thing as priority. The priority was safety,” he said. “We all looked at the damning reports on the table. If they continued flying, I don’t know whether most of us would be here. Many of us would have been victims of one of those flights. God forbid.”
He revealed that efforts are underway to ensure passengers and travel agents are compensated.
“One solution will also be that if those entities are trying to come back to aviation under any guise, whether to register a new AOC or operate another business in the aviation sector, they must settle their debts first,” Keyamo said.
He added, “We should look at their assets. There are assets still available. Let them sell their assets, cannibalize their revenue, and pay people. Let’s find a way to go after their assets and get money to pay Nigerians who are owed. NCAA should do that because they can’t get away with it.”
The minister’s remarks underline the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting passenger interests while maintaining strict aviation safety standards.
