The establishment of a National Carrier will enable Nigeria to gain optimally from the Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs) with other nations, James Odaudu, the director of public affairs, Ministry of Aviation, has said.
Odaudu said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.
BASA is a treaty signed between two countries to allow international commercial air transport services between territories and promotes international air links between countries that support and enable the movement of persons, cargo, trade, and tourism.
Odaudu recalled that the Federal Government had earlier announced the signing of BASAs with the U.S., India, Morocco, and Rwanda.
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“Establishment of the national carrier will also make Nigeria take full advantage of the Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM), introduce competition leading to competitive fares, better services and generate employment,” he said.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had in 2020 while defending the ministry’s budget at the Senate said that the new national carrier would start in 2021.
He stated that all required agreements and arrangements with other partners for the inauguration had been worked out and that the new flag carrier would start with domestic and regional airline services.
