Slok Air (Lagos) Chairman, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, says his airline is currently in talks with Emirates (EK, Dubai International) in a bid to resume operations. He told Nigeria's World Stage News that initial discussions had focussed on the maintenance of its aircraft.
"[The] Aviation business is the most difficult thing to do, when the plane goes up, you are in trouble, when the plane is on ground, you are in trouble, I can only do this if Emirates agrees on the partnership that we are discussing...so they are going to go to Kano and Abuja by August so if they agree to maintain my aircraft locally and become our partner Slok Air will come back," Kalu told journalists in Lagos this past weekend.
Slok Air was permanently grounded by Olusegun Obasanjo's regime in 2004 citing alleged safety oversights. In the wake of its suspension and repeated failed attempts at regaining its Air Operators Certificate, the airline shifted operations to Gambia where it started operations on September 24, 2004 as Slok Air International (Gambia) (Banjul). That venture collapsed in 2008 under hefty unpaid debts.
After years of running unviable, poorly managed airlines, African investment consortia and governments are increasingly looking to joint-venture partnerships with foreign airlines in a bid to establish their own sustainable national airlines. Earlier this year, the Zambian and Nigerian governments reportedly courted Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) with a proposal to establish their own new national carriers.
So far, out of the Middle Eastern carriers, only Emirates has agreed to a partnership - with Angolan national carrier, TAAG Angola Airlines (DT, Luanda 4 De Fevereiro).
