The new Federal Government appointed management of Arik Air has announced the suspension of the airline’s remaining international flight operations – London and Johannesburg- as it tries to solve the financial problems.
According to the Punch newspaper, the move is aimed at realigning its operations and refocusing on satisfying its domestic and West African passengers.
“It will also present Arik with an excellent opportunity to engage and discuss with creditors, who have become restive since the intervention, and have also understandably exhausted their patience due to non-payment of accumulated debts and non-performance on services and contracts.”
The management said it has commenced plans to refund all international passengers affected by this decision. It also said:
“To our international creditors, Arik is most grateful for your patience and understanding. We reassure them that all pending issues with the airline will be duly addressed as a matter of priority as we plan to engage them in this regard.
“The international route is very critical for the strategic turnaround, growth strategy and stability of the airline. Therefore, we intend to revisit the routes immediately we address all the problems inherited, which are affecting and creating more dissatisfied passenger base. We appeal to all passengers to kindly bear with us as the decision is to ensure that the airline adheres strictly to international aviation best practices.
