Arik Air has achieved another milestone in aviation, with the operation of its first Nigerian registered commercial aircraft to the United States in two decades.
Before now, Arik Air was operating a wet leased aircraft with foreign registration into the US.
Arik Air Senior Vice President (Operations)/Deputy Managing Director, Captain Ado Sanusi described the feat as a major achievement, not only for Arik Air, but also for the industry.
“Arik Air is proud of this achievement and appreciates the support from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and all other stakeholders in the industry,” Captain Ado added.
Last week, the airline operated its scheduled Lagos-New York flight using an A330-200 aircraft with registration number 5N-JID. The feat by Arik Air is outstanding because the operations of the flight was staffed by Nigerians.
The airline’s latest milestone was the result of almost three years of preparation, during which the airline received the Part 129 approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and was also awarded the Extended Range Twin Operations (ETOPS) approval.
Arik Air started direct flight operations from Lagos to New York in November 2009, using its foreign registered A340-500 aircraft operated by Hi-fly of Portugal and it was the first direct flight between Nigeria and the United States to be operated by a Nigerian airline in the last decade.
Culled from The Nation
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