Nigerian carrier Dana Air (9J) is to resume flights on Friday, 4 January 2012 using a fleet of five MD83s. Initial operations will resume with Abuja-Lagos with schedules to be announced "in due course". |
| Dana air MD83 (Dana Air) |
Despite being granted their Air Operators Certificate (AOC) in early December, Dana Air were told they would only be able to resume flight operations once it had paid all the compensation it owes to families of the 159 passengers involved in the crash of Dana Air flight 9J-997.
Thereafter, the Lagos-based carrier was forced to send its employees on compulsory leave in mid December after the Nigerian House Committee on Aviation recommended that "its operations should remain suspended and that the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, should be sacked for the alleged roles played that led to the accident."
Associated Press reports claim Dana Air sold tickets Thursday for flights between Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and its largest city of Lagos, though Dana Air's website, while active, does not accept any bookings.
As part of efforts to improve its image and safety record, the airline has also short listed a Boeing 737-700 and another Airbus A319 aircraft as possible additions to its fleet.
