Aero-contractors to resume flight, boosts fleet with extra planes

Aero-contractors, Nigeria’s oldest domestic airline, will be resuming flight operations, which it suspended recently.

The struggling airline has also boosted its fleet with extra four Q400 planes. Mohammed Abubakar, an investor, acquired the planes, based on his business relationship with the airline.

Abubakar said he opted for the Q400 model because of its fuel economy and prevailing energy challenges in the country.

Captain Abdullahi Mahmud, the managing director of Aero Contractors,  said the acquisition “is part of our recovery strategies since most of our aircraft are undergoing maintenance and we want to make sure that when we are coming back as we promised, we come back very strong.”

On the partnership with Abubakar, Mahmud said, “It is a strategic business alliance that we have with the owner of the aircraft whereby they brought the aircraft and it is like a sharing formula.

“If you look at the aircraft, it is not like a wet lease because it is a Nigerian registered aircraft, so it is our crew that are going to operate it. Our pilots, cabin crew are going to operate it. We have finished signing the agreement with them.

“We are getting prepared to resume operation as soon as possible.”