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There is an emerging report that some powers that be in the Nigeria’s aviation sector are trying to wield their influence in ensuring that the British flight, Flair Aviation, whose plane was impounded yesterday by the Federal Government doesn’t face the full wrath of the Nigerian law.
Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, yesterday said the Federal Government had impounded an aircraft belonging to Flair Aviation, a United Kingdom-based aviation company, for violating the current ban on flights into the country.
According to reports reaching TheNewsGuru(TNG) from an anonymous source within the aviation sector, indicates that the culprits who brought the flight into the country are now pleading for leniency through their contacts in the government.
“Those who are behind the illegal commercial flight have been apprehended, and they have accepted fault but still pleading relevant authorities through their contacts in the government so as to get less severe punishment. But the issue at hand is weighty and wll be very difficult to sweep under the carpet.” Says source.
Meanwhile, Sirika had disclosed government action on his official twitter handle @hadisirika, saying the company sought approval for humanitarian operations, only to embark on commercial flights into the Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos.
The impounded aircraft, an Embraer Legacy 600 jet, marked G-ERFX, with capacity for 13 passengers, Vanguard learned last night, is currently being detained at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Sirika said the flight crew of the flight is also being interrogated to know their level of culpability, stressing there shall be maximum penalty for the offence.
He said: “COVID-19. Flair Aviation, a UK company, was given approval for humanitarian operations but regrettably we caught them conducting commercial flights. “This is callous! The craft is impounded, crew being interrogated. There shall be maximum penalty. Wrong time to try our resolve.”
Flair Aviation operated a commercial flight as against the humanitarian operations approval it secured to operate to Nigeria. NCAA investigates Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has commenced investigation into the incident in a bid to unmask possible internal collaborators.
James Odaudu, Director, Public Affairs and Communication, Federal Ministry of Aviation, has also assured to keep Nigerians abreast of the whole incident at the end of investigation.
Reacting to the report, Odaudu told newsmen that: “The Federal Government has commenced investigations into the incident. An official statement will be issued by the minister after the investigation.”
The Federal Government had earlier on May 27 shut down Nigerian airspace following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The flight ban was recently extended by another month.
The extension of the flight ban was announced on May 6 by the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha during the Presidential Task Force daily briefing on COVID-19. He said the decision was based on the assessment and advice from experts of the aviation industry to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.