Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s oldest airline, says it will
suspend passenger flights from Wednesday, July 20.
The airline, in a statement on Monday, said the suspension
is temporary but did not indicate when it will resume operations.
In May, Aero had denied plans to shut down operations after
reports alleged that the airline was cash-strapped and might soon go out of
business.
Aero said the decision to suspend passenger flights was
taken due to the fact that most of its aircraft are currently undergoing
maintenance, resulting in an inability to offer a seamless and efficient
service to customers.
“We are working to bring these aircraft back to service in
the next few weeks, so we can continue to offer our passengers the safe,
efficient, and reliable services that Aero Contractors is known for, which is
the hallmark of Aero Contractors Company of Nig. Ltd,” the statement reads in
part.
“This does not in any way affect the maintenance activities
of the Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) otherwise known as AeroMRO, the
Approved Training Organisation (ATO) also known as Aero Training School, the
Helicopter and Charter Services operations.”
The airline also blamed the “impact of the challenging
operating environment” on its daily operations.
It lamented that the past few months have been very
challenging for the aviation industry.
It listed the issues hampering airline operations in Nigeria
to include high cost of maintenance, skyrocketing fuel prices, inflation, and
foreign exchange (FX) scarcity resulting in high FX rates.
Aero apologised to its customers for the inconvenience and
promised to return to service as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, we are working assiduously to return to
service as quickly as possible, and do assure our esteemed customers and
stakeholders of our determination, that our short absence will not create any
major void in the market, as we are coordinating with our business partners to
ensure minimum discomfort to ticket holders,” the statement adds.
“As members of Spring
Alliance (a commercial alliance with member airlines providing mutual support
in the area of operations), we are liaising with our partner airlines to
minimise the impact on our esteemed customers.
“Our customer service team will be working to help affected
esteemed customers reach their destinations.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to our
esteemed customers and promise to return to service as soon as possible.
“We thank you in advance for your cooperation and
understanding at this time.”
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