officer of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, has said
The chief executive
officer of Qata
webapex.net r Airways, Akbar Al Baker, has said his company was never
interested in being a core investor in the national carrier project, Nigeria
Air.
Speaking to journalists
on the sidelines of the ongoing 18th Doha Forum in Doha, Qatar, Al Baker said
the Niger
westernmagazine.org ian government only approached them for help on how to go about
floating a national carrier.
While refuting rumours
that the national carrier project was suspended for lack of investors, Hadi
Sirika, minister of state for aviation had listed Qatar Airways and Ethiopian
Airways as some of the potential investors of the national carrier.
“We never applied to
serve as core investor in the proposed Nigerian national carrier. The
government of Nigeria only approached us on how to go about setting up the
carrier. And we advised that Nigeria needs massive investments to float a
nationa
ysin.org
l carrier,” Vanguard quoted Al Baker to have said on Sunday.
“Nigeria, being the largest
country in Africa, cannot afford not to have a national carrier that competes,
first in Africa, and then the global stage. Again, Nigeria must also have the
airport that can accommodate modern aircraft that can drive competition.”
He said his company also
advised Nigeria on the type of aircraft to acquire for profitability and that
Qatar Airways would rather encourage the Nigerian government to designate some
airlines to Doha rather than pay royalties; pending the floating of the new
national carrier.
Al Baker also said Qatar
Airways will not fly into Abuja or other routes in Nigeria so as not to kill
the domestic airlines in the country.
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