The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed the grounding of Arik Air (W3, Lagos) aircraft based on a Federal Supreme Court order regarding a USD2.5 million debt the airline owes to Atlas Petroleum International, the country's largest privately owned petroleum exploration and production company.
"Based on the order of court over debt issues, their aircraft have been grounded," Michael Achimugu, NCAA director for consumer protection and public affairs, confirmed to ch-aviation.
The authority stated it was "well aware of the grounding of Arik Air aircraft over legal issues" and that it was monitoring the situation and engaging with Arik Air on its plans for affected passengers.
In a statement shared with ch-aviation, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) said it had grounded Arik Air's aircraft following the Supreme Court order.
Arik Air has been under receivership of the federal state-run Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) since 2017. On June 25, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the sale of Arik Air's assets, including three aircraft and hangars, to recoup the money owed to Atlas Petroleum International. According to the NAMA, on July 19, the enforcement department of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) implemented the order, notifying the agency and aviation minister Festus Keyama.
As ch-aviation reported previously, the order specifically mandated the sale of the following aircraft:
- one company-owned 149-seater 16.75-year-old B737-700, 5N-MJF (msn 34762);
- one company-owned 146-seater 14.79-year-old B737-800, 5N-MJQ (msn 38971); and
- one company-owned 70-seater 10.11-year-old DHC-8-Q400, 5N-BKX (msn 4470).
According to the NAMA, Arik Arik obtained an ex parte to stop further execution of the order, although it had not been formally served. The agency explained that since the aircraft have already been attached, further execution by sale could be paused while the parties resolved the issues in court. To comply with the Supreme Court order and protect the aircraft from being removed or tampered with, the NAMA decided to ground them to ensure they remain under the court's jurisdiction.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Arik Air's fleet totals five B737-700s, three B737-800s, three Dash-8-Q400s, and three CRJ900s.
ch-aviation has contacted AMCON for comment.
