Dana Air resumes flights to Port Harcourt

Flights to the ‘garden city’ – capital of Nigeria's Rivers State – had been curtailed since June last year when a Dana aircraft crashed in Lagos killing all 153 passengers and crew.

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), immediately revoked the company’s operation license pending proper investigations into the cause of the crash.

Then, in September, the Federal Government reinstated the airline’s license and allowed it to resume without any flight operations. In December 2012, NCAA issued a new Air Operators’ Certificate after Dana Air completed the necessary recertification processes and then, in January, flights resumed between Lagos and Abuja

Obi Mbanuzuo, head of commercial at Dana Air said: “We are pleased to re-launch flight operations to the oil-rich city, to offer business and leisure travellers the opportunity to experience our world-class services and unrivalled hospitality in line with our objective of re-integrating major cities into our route network.

“We are constantly reviewing our operations and our decision to commence operations to Port-Harcourt is hinged on our desire to offer our guests access to seamless connections to their final destinations across the nation.”

The carrier is resuming operations on Monday, April 22 with one daily flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt at 11:43hrs and a return flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos at 13:50hrs with a slight change in schedule at the weekend. It will also offer daily flights from Port Harcourt to Abuja at 08:00hrs with a return leg to Port Harcourt at 18:00hrs.”

Mbanuzuo added: “We reaffirm our commitment to boosting our operations with the acquisition of Boeing 737 aircraft by the third quarter of 2013. Our vision is to be recognised and respected as Nigeria’s most reliable and customer-friendly airline, and our mission is to earn the loyalty and respect of customers by consistently demonstrating commitment to service and providing affordable regional air transport services that focus on innovation, quality and service excellence.”