Aero resumes operations with 6 aircraft December 5

Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s oldest aviation company is set to resume scheduled passenger flight operations with six aircraft.

The airline which will resume on December 5, 2022, will operate using Boeing 737 and Dash 8 (Q-400) and will service 10 destinations including Warri, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Benin, Yola, Sokoto, Kano, Asaba and Calabar.

The airline said it has put plans in place to expand its aircraft maintenance facility to cater for other aircraft types such as Embraer 145 and train personnel for maintenance of Airbus aircraft types.

The airline which suspended scheduled services on July 20 over financial difficulties has been given approval by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authorities (NCAA) to commence operations, having satisfied all regulatory requirements.

Speaking during a press conference to announce the resumption of the airlines’ scheduled flight operations, Ado Sanusi, the new managing director and chief executive officer, Aero Contractors said the airline has three business units, namely; the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO), the fixed and rotary wing airline operation and the training unit.

Sanusi said these services would help strengthen the airline arm of the business and mitigate the airline’s operational costs.

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He acknowledged the challenges facing the airline business, some of which include foreign exchange rates and scarcity, increase in aviation fuel price and multiple taxations.

According to him, if the government is able to address these multiple taxations, then airlines would have better chances of surviving in Nigeria.

Sanusi said Aero Contractors has looked at these problems and has introduced business strategies to ensure that amid the challenges, the airline operates profitably.

He disclosed that in the last quarter of the year 2023, the airline will commence regional flight operations.

He however assured that the airline has come to stay and would be competing with other airlines with affordable prices.

“We are pleased and delighted to return to services after a few months. We are determined to offer a great travel experience to our customers during this season and beyond. We look forward to welcoming them on board,” Sanusi said.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.