The Federal Executive Council suspended the planned Nigeria Air national carrier project on 19 September 2018, barely two months after the government unveiled the airline's name and livery to global fanfare at the Farnborough International Air Show in the United Kingdom. Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika announced the decision on Twitter, writing that the council had "taken the tough decision to suspend the National Carrier Project in the interim," without detailing the reasons behind the reversal.
From Farnborough Unveiling to Sudden Halt
Sirika had introduced Nigeria Air on 18 July 2018, telling reporters the government was "finally on track to launching a new national flag carrier" and targeting a first flight before the end of the year. The proposed structure envisaged a public-private partnership in which the federal government would hold only a five percent stake, with talks reported to be under way with Ethiopian Airlines and Qatar Airways over a larger investment role.
Sources familiar with the matter told local media the suspension followed a recommendation from the government's Economic Management Team, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, that the state should not fund a new carrier with public money. Sirika later said the decision was strategic and not politically motivated, and insisted that all commitments already made would be honoured.
A Fourth Attempt to Revive a National Flag Carrier
The project's collapse marked the latest in a string of failed efforts to revive a Nigerian flag carrier since the liquidation of Nigeria Airways in 2003, following the earlier abandonment of the Nigeria One proposal in 2013. Critics, including former education minister Oby Ezekwesili, had already questioned the transparency of the Nigeria Air process at its July launch, and some aviation stakeholders said the government had underestimated the funding and planning required before going public with the brand.