Dana Air restates commitment to safety and quality service
More than 50 hours of Demonstration Flights, with full crew and NCAA inspectors on board, were successfully completed on October 24, 2012, and the airline is expected to be issued its new Air Operator Certificate (AOC) shortly.
- (1888PressRelease) November 07, 2012 - As it gears up to resume scheduled flights, operators of Dana Air have reiterated the airline's commitment to the provision of safe and reliable world-class services to air travelers in Nigeria. Tony Usidamen, Head of Corporate Communications of the airline restated Dana Air's commitment while outlining steps taken by the airline for safe and smooth return to operations in a chat with aviation correspondents.
According to Usidamen, "following the lifting of the suspension on our operations by the Federal Government on September 5, 2012, the airline commenced a rigorous process of recertification by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). This is a standard safety measure taken by the authorities to ensure that all the aircrafts in our fleet are fully serviceable, and we have been cooperating fully in the exercise."
"Of the 5 aircrafts in our fleet, 3 are currently on ground at MMA2 and have undergone thorough internal engine inspection and systems by NCAA, while the other 2 are undergoing scheduled C-Checks in Istanbul, Turkey and Miami, Florida. The airline also organised an independent inspection of all aircrafts by Aircraft Leasing and Management (ALM) - a leading aviation consulting company based in the United Kingdom."
Usidamen also disclosed that the airline has signed a five-year contract with a Canadian firm, FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd, for its flagship automated information reporting system (AFIRS) 228 at an estimated 1M USD. "The contract requires FLYHT to install the AFIRS 228 on all our aircrafts to provide real-time flight data monitoring and to assist in achieving maintenance and operational efficiencies."
Station inspections including operations offices, engineering stores and maintenance facilities have been completed. Airline procedures and manuals verification have also been concluded, and credentials of key post holders and management staff have been satisfactorily verified, said the airline's spokesman.
"To ensure quality throughout our operations, refresher courses and recurrent training for all 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."
Beyond the requirements by the NCAA, the airline said that it is also committed to completing all audit requirements for listing in the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry by 2013, a process it began several months back. IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents about 240 airlines worldwide and IOSA is the benchmark for global safety management in airlines.
"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", Usidamen stated.
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