The Federal Government may liquidate Dana Air’s assets 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, disclosed this on Tuesday during the Ministry’s fourth-quarter stakeholders’ engagement at Bolingo Hotel in Abuja, held under the theme: “Leveraging public feedback to drive excellence in aviation services.”
Nairametrics confirmed the report’s authenticity through Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister, noting that Keyamo made the statement while responding to a question about the embattled airline.
Keyamo added that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would be directed to investigate why the airline has not yet refunded the affected funds. He stressed that the suspension of Dana Air’s operations was driven by safety concerns rather than commercial considerations.
“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, and we all looked at the damning reports that we had met on the table,” Keyamo stated.
He added that steps are being taken to ensure refunds and accountability: “I have asked Najomo (Director General of NCAA) to dig deep to find out how those passengers and agents will be refunded… One solution will also be that if that same individual or those entities are trying to come back to aviation under any guise… they have to go and settle their debts first.
“We should look at their assets. There are assets that are still available. Let them sell their assets. Let’s 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.”
What you should know
Dana Air has a history of financial and operational challenges that have repeatedly raised safety concerns. In April 2024, Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, disclosed that a 2022 Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) audit had found the airline financially and operationally unfit to fly, citing multiple infractions accumulated over several years.
- The Minister made the revelation on the ‘Politics Today’ programme on Channels Television, in response to questions about Dana Air’s suspension following a runway incursion incident at Lagos Airport earlier that month. He highlighted past flight-related incidents, including a 2018 case where a door fell off an aircraft shortly after landing.
Keyamo said it remains unclear how Dana Air regained its operating license prior to the recent suspension, as the audit had revealed serious financial and operational weaknesses. The 2022 NCAA review showed that liabilities had consistently exceeded assets, and the airline had been operating with negative equity since 2018—factors that ultimately led to the suspension of its air transport and operator certificates.
