Dana Air Assures On Safety

Dana Air has assured air travelers of its commitment to safety and seamless service as it gears up to resume flight operations in Nigeria after the June 3 crash that killed 153 persons.

The Head of Corporate Communications of Dana Air, Tony Usidamen stated this while outlining steps taken by the airline for safe and smooth operations in a chat with newsmen.

“Following the lifting of the suspension on our operations by the Federal Government on September 5, 2012, the airline commenced a Nigorous process of recertification by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. This is a standard safety measure taken by the authorities to ensure that all the aircraft in the fleet are fully serviceable and we have been cooperating fully in this exercise.

“Of the five aircraft in our fleet, three are currently on ground at MMA 2 and have undergone thorough internal engine inspection and systems by NCAA while the other two are undergoing scheduled C-checks in Islanbul, Turkey and Miami, Florida. The airline also organised an independent inspection of all aircraft by Aircraft leasing and management (ALM) – a leading aviation consulting company based in the United Kingdom”, he said.

He also mentioned that the airline had signed a five- year contract with a Candian firm, FLYHT Aerospsace Solutions Ltd. For its flagship auto-mated information reporting system (AFIRS) 228 at an estimated $1 million.

“The contract requires FLYHT to install the AFIRS 228 on all our aircraft to provide real-time flight data monitoring and to assist in achieving maintenance and operational effiencies”, he said.

Usidamen noted that the regulatory body had completed the station inspections, including operations offices, engineering stores and maintenance facilities, adding that airline procedures and manuals verification had also been concluded.

“To ensure quality service throughout our operations, refresher courses and recurrent training for all our staff have been completed. All our pilots have gone through simulator training, crew resource management (CRM), familiarization and touch and go flights training as well as ground school training in line with NCAA directives. Cabin crew recurrent training has also been completed and all ground staff have concluded requisite training”.

“The provision of safe, reliable world-class air transport services has always been our focus at Dana Air and we will continue to adhere strictly to safety procedures as required by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act and all other relevant local and international regulations”, he said.

Stories by Reward Akwu