The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has announced plans to convert Arik Air and Aero Contractors into a single national carrier.
This decision comes as both airlines face substantial financial challenges and mounting debt.
Arik Air, once a flagship carrier in Nigeria, has been grappling with financial woes.
Similarly, Aero Contractors has struggled to stay afloat amid competitive pressures and a tough economic climate.
Gbenga Alade, AMCON’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer who disclosed the move, said that both airlines have accumulated so much debt that they might not be able to repay it.
Alade mentioned that the idea of merging Arik and Aero Contractors into a national carrier was proposed to a former aviation minister, but the suggestion was not accepted.
His words: “The former management of AMCON presented the idea of converting Arik and Aero to a national carrier.
But the former aviation minister did not buy the idea. We will present it again because that is the best option.”
He further explained that the previous AMCON management created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to facilitate the conversion of these airlines into a national carrier, but it was sold off.
