Nigeria Airways

Nigeria Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Nigeria Airways, is a defunct Nigerian airline. The company was founded in 1958 after the dissolution of West African Airways Corporation. It was wholly owned by the Government of Nigeria, and served as the country's flag carrier.^[1]:51 The airline was headquartered in Abuja.^[1]:50 Nigeria Airways operated under the IATA airline code WT and the ICAO airline code NGA; the carrier's callsign was NIGERIA.^[1][2] The airline logo consisted of the Nigerian flag with a green elephant named Skypower in its centre.^[3]

The airline was managed by a number of foreign companies, including British Airways, KLM and South African Airways.^[4][5] It had its heyday in the early 1980s, just after a KLM team two-year-management period;^[6] at that time its fleet comprised about 30 aircraft.^[7] It ceased operations in 2003. Plagued of mis-management, corruption, and overstaffing,^{[3][8][9][10]} at the time of closure the airline had debts for more than US$60,000,000 ($71,629,764 in 2012),^[11] a poor safety record,^[11] and its operative fleet comprised a single aircraft flying domestic routes as well as two leased aircraft operating the international network.^[12] It was succeeded by Virgin Nigeria.^[11][13][14]

History

Early years

The airline came into being under the name West African Airways Corporation Nigeria Limited (WAAC Nigeria) on 23 August 1958, to succeed the folded West African Airways Corporation (WAAC).^[1]:51[15] Operations started on 1 October 1958.^[15] WAAC Nigeria inherited the assets and liabilities of WAAC. Initially the airline was a tripartite entity in which the Nigerian government, BOAC, and Elder Dempster Line all had a participation.^[1]:51 The Nigerian Government held a controlling interest of 51% of the shares that was boosted to a 100% on 1 May 1959.^[1]:51 On 22 January 1971, the company was rebranded as Nigeria Airways.^[1]:51

Demise

The carrier had accumulated significant debts that outstripped its revenues virtually from the mid-1980s.^[16][17][18] The International Finance Corporation (IFC) was commissioned by the Nigerian Government in 2000 to assist in the process of reestructuration and privatisation of the airline.^[9] Among three options, one of them was to partner with a large European airline; Air France, Lufthansa and Swissair were all considered.^[9] Other option was to liquidate the carrier.^[9] A fleet comprising 32 aircraft in 1984 gradually depleted to a three-strong at that time.^[9] The IFC withdrew from its advisory position in 2001 citing the unwillingness of both the company and the government to carry out the necessary measures that would make the airline attractive to potential investors.^[19] Likewise, there were various allegations claiming the airline's failure was accelerated by former Nigerian rulers who looted and mismanaged the company.^[20][21]

In 1997 the UK Civil Aviation Authority banned the airline from operating into its territory citing safety concerns;^[22] the Nigerian government replied banning British Airways operations.^[23][24] The United Kingdom cited safety concerns again in 2001 when it refused to allow Nigeria Airways to operate the Lagos–London route,^[25] this time regarding the Boeing 747 that was leased from Air Djibouti to fly the route.^[26]

The carrier ceased operations in 2003.^[27] The Nigerian government later came to an agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways to found Virgin Nigeria Airways, intended as a replacement, yet the ground facilities of the folded Nigeria Airways were eventually taken over by Arik Air.^[28] Terminal pension benefits for liquidated staff were greatly underpaid compared with their counterpart overseas who promptly took the federal government to court.

Destinations

At the time of closure the Nigeria Airways network consisted of four domestic destinations, namely Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt; likewise, the international network comprised Abidjan, Dubai, Jeddah, London and New York.^[1]:51

Fleet

Nigeria Airways operated services to London using a Comet 4B. During the 1960s, it also operated the Douglas DC-3 on internal routes, followed by the turboprop Fokker Friendship and the jetliner Boeing 737 in later years.

BOAC operated VC10 services on behalf of Nigeria Airways from April 1964 until an aircraft of the type was acquired from the British state airline in October 1969; the airplane was destroyed in an accident in November that year and a new Boeing 707 entered the fleet in 1971 intended as its replacement.^[29][30] In the interim, Boeing 707s were leased mostly to serve the Lagos–London route.^[31][32]

The Douglas DC-10-30 was introduced in 1976,^[33][34] and the Airbus A310 in 1983.^[35] The carrier operated the last DC-10 ever built,^[36] on lease from World Airways. Boeing 747-200s were used while the A310s were on order.

Historic Fleet

The airline operated the following equipment throughout its history:

Accidents and incidents

Aviation Safety Network records 16 accidents/incidents for the airline, eight of which led to fatalities.^[43]

Accidents involving fatalities

• 20 November 1969: This was both the first hull-loss and fatal accident experienced by the carrier, when a Vickers VC-10-1101, registration 5N-ABD, flying the London–Rome–Kano–Lagos route, crashed on its last leg during approach to Ikeja International Airport after hitting trees. All 87 occupants of the aircraft perished in the accident.^[44][45][46] The airplane involved had been sold to Nigeria Airways by BOAC less than two months prior to the occurrence of the accident.^[47]
• 22 January 1973: A Boeing 707-3D3C, tail number JY-ADO, chartered from Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines and operated on behalf of Nigeria Airways during the Hajj season, skidded off the runway and caught fire soon after one of the two main gears collapsed on landing at Kano International Airport. The aircraft was due to fly the Jeddah–Lagos route, but it was diverted to Kano because of the weather. There were 202 people on board; 176 perished in the accident.^[48]
• 1 March 1978: A Fokker F-28-1000, registration 5N-ANA,^[49][50] operating a domestic scheduled Sokoto–Kano service,^[49] collided short before touchdown at the destination airport with a Nigerian Air Force Mig-21U^[49] trainer;^[50] as a result 18 fatalities were recorded, of whom 16 were occupants of the civil aircraft.^[50]
• 28 November 1983: A Fokker F-28-2000, tail number 5N-ANF, that operated a domestic scheduled Lagos–Enugu passenger service, crashed in poor visibility 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi) short of the runway on a steep approach to Enugu Airport and caught fire. The death toll for the accident rose to 53.^[51][52][53]
• 11 July 1991: Flight 2120, a chartered Douglas DC-8-61 from the Canadian company Nationair, registration C-GMXQ, caught fire and crashed shortly after take-off from King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The aircraft was flying pilgrims back to Sokoto, during the Hajj season. There were no survivors among the 261 occupants, 247 of whom were passengers.^[54][55] This was the deadliest accident experienced by the company all through its history.

• 19 December 1994: A Boeing 707-3F9C, 5N-ABK, that was operating Flight 9805, a cargo service between Jeddah and Kano, crashed near Kiri Kasama, Nigeria, after smoke in the cockpit was reported. Three people lost their lives.^[56][57][58]
• 13 November 1995: Flight 357 was a domestic scheduled Yola–Jos–Kaduna–Lagos passenger service, operated with a Boeing 737-2F9, tail number 5N-AUA, that experienced a wing strike following a tailwind landing at Kaduna Airport, inbound from Jos. When the right wing hit the ground after the aircraft veered off left of the runway, the fuel tanks resulted damaged and a fire broke out. The fire completely engulfed the fuselage. Out of 138 occupants of the aircraft, 11 passengers lost their lives.^[59][60][61]

Incidents involving fatalities

• 25 October 1993: An Airbus A310-222 was hijacked en route from Lagos to Abuja. The hijackers demanded the resignation of the Nigeria's government and to be flown to Frankfurt. The aircraft was denied permission to land in N'Djamena, and was diverted to the Niamey airport for refuelling. It was stormed by Nigerien commandos 4 days later; the co-pilot was killed during the operation.^[62]

Non-fatal hull-losses

• 4 April 1971: Following a rejected take-off in crosswind conditions at Jos Airport, a Fokker F-27-200, registration 5N-AAX, swerved off the runway and hit heaps of gravel.^[63]
• 19 December 1972: A Fokker F-28-1000, tail number PH-FPT, ran off the runway while landing at Port Harcourt Airport.^[64]
• 25 April 1977: A Fokker F27-200, registration 5N-AAW, crash-landed at Sokoto Airport.^{[note 1]}
• 10 January 1987: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, tail number 5N-ANR, overshoot the runway and caught fire at Ilorin Airport on a training flight.^[67]
• 15 October 1988: A Boeing 737-2F9, registration 5N-ANW, ran past the runway after landing in heavy rain at Port Harcourt Airport; nosegear and starboard main gear both collapsed.^[68]
• 2 October 1989: A Boeing 737-2F9, registration 5N-ANX, had its nosegear collapsed following overrunning on the wet runway at Ikeja International Airport.^[69]

See also

• Arik Air
• Virgin Nigeria Airways

Notes

1. ^ Figures for the actual date of occurrence of the incident are discrepant.^[65][66]

References