18th May, 2017
Medview Airline Plc has clarified the European Union (EU)’s operational restriction, which the public had misunderstood as a total ban on its United Kingdom operations.
The airline made the clarification in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Business Development and Commercial, Mr Isiaq Na’Allah, on Thursday in Lagos.
Na’Allah said the airline’s operations to London was in no way affected by the ban and had since been operating with her wet-leased aircraft.
He said the ban fell under an exception rule in EASA, Annex A, where it states that “Air carriers listed in Annex A could be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier, which is not subject to an operating ban”.
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Na’Allah said the airline regretted the anxiety the misinformation may have caused its teeming passengers and assured them that there was no basis for alarm as the Lagos-London flight remained unaffected.
“We at Medview Airline are committed to safety, and currently working with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to restore normalcy,’’ he said.
According to him, the airline operated its normal schedule flight to London amidst the misinformation about the restriction.
“It will be recalled that in March 2016, Medview Airline passed through one of the most stringent operations audit of the global airlines’ body – the International Air Transport Association (IATA), after which it was issued with IOSA – International Operational Safety Audit.
“The airline has secured a B777 aircraft leased from an EU-member state to boost its international operations, which will soon join the fleet,’’ Na’Allah added.