FG mulls seizing Dana Air assets to reimburse stranded passengers – Keyamo

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says the federal government is considering taking over Dana Air’s assets to reimburse passengers and travel agents whose money remains stuck with the airline.

Keyamo disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the ministry’s fourth-quarter stakeholders’ meeting, themed “leveraging public feedback to drive excellence in aviation services.” He added that he has directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to look into why the pending refunds have not been settled.

The minister explained that the government’s decision to suspend Dana Air’s operations was driven by concerns over safety, stressing that the move prioritised the protection of passengers above commercial interests.

He said the administration reviewed “damning reports” on the airline’s safety profile and operational procedures. Although the NCAA initiated the suspension, Keyamo said he urged the agency to act firmly in the interest of public safety.

According to him, “for Dana, the problem is that it was a choice between safety and disaster.
“So we didn’t take the commercial thing as a priority. The priority was safety and we all looked at the damning reports that we met on the table,” he said.

“It was a decision of the NCAA to suspend them, but I pushed them to say, look, these are the reports we are seeing on the table about safety record, about lack of standards that put the lives of Nigerians at risk.

“If they continue flying, I don’t know whether most of us will be here. Many of us would have been victims of one of those flights. God forbid.”

Keyamo also said he has instructed Chris Najomo, acting director-general of the NCAA, to determine how affected passengers and ticket agents can get their money back.

The minister added: “I’ve asked Najomo to dig deep to find out how those passengers and agents will be refunded. He has to dig deep on that.”

He warned that any individual or entity linked to Dana Air seeking to re-enter the aviation sector must resolve outstanding debts first, adding that the federal government could resort to liquidating the airline’s assets to settle the obligations
“We should look at their assets. There are assets that are still available. Let them sell their assets.

“Let’s cannibalise 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.”

Dana Air was grounded on April 24, 2024, after a runway incident involving one of its aircraft in Lagos. Two days later, Keyamo said internal reports dating back two years had confirmed that the airline was unfit to operate, noting that repeated incidents necessitated its suspension.