Virgin Nigeria Air ways Limited, the nation�s flag carrier, said it is optimistic that the reform agenda drive of the new Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, will help to reposition the Nigerian aviation sector in the right direction.
At the meeting called by the Honourable Minister to brief airline operators last week, the minister made it clear that the cornerstone of his reform agenda will be the implementation of the recommendations of Air Marshall Paul Dike�s Presidential Task Force Committee on the aviation sector.
Commenting on the minister�s decision to revisit and speedily implement this aviation reform master plan, Mr. Conrad Clifford, the Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Nigeria, who was a member of the Presidential Task Force on Aviation comments: �The recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Aviation Reforms were arrived at after a painstaking audit of the entire Nigerian aviation environment and the decisions were taken in the interest of building the sector�.
According to Mr. Clifford, �the willingness of the new minister to speedily implement the recommendations shows that he is on the right path towards restoring the sector to its place of pride in global aviation.
�Virgin Nigeria is delighted about the general policy direction and drive of the Honourable Minister, as enunciated at his meeting with the airline operators, especially with respect to funding, review of airline licences (airworthiness) and the need for airline consolidation.
�Based on July 2006 statistics, Virgin Nigeria now carries more passengers than any other Nigerian airline. As the new de-facto national carrier, we will fully cooperate with all relevant agencies in the implementation of the recommendations towards making the Nigerian skies safer�, Conrad further said.
It will be recalled that following the unfortunate happenings in the aviation sector last year, a stakeholders� forum was called by Mr. President to discuss the challenges confronting the aviation sector and proffer solutions. The Presidential Committee, headed by the current Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Paul Dike, was then inaugurated and charged with the responsibility to recommend the way forward for the nation�s aviation industry.
At the end of the committee�s sitting, which encompassed all areas of the aviation sector and visitations to all the airports in the country, the committee sent in its reports covering over 100 major recommendations.