Nigeria’s aviation authorities have suspended the operating license of Dana Airlines, following Sunday’s crash of one of its planes that left all 153 people on board dead and killed six more on the ground, the local media reported Tuesday.
The report quoted the spokesman of the regulatory Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Sam Adurogboye as saying the suspension, which was issued Monday night, had been communicated to the airline, which has also complied.
Mr. Adurogboye said the action was taken to ensure unhindered investigations into the crash, which occurred as the MD-83 plane was flying from the capital city of Abuja to the commercial city of Lagos.
On the official website of the airlines, ”reservation closed” was written in red on the flight reservation window, in an indication that it is indeed not about to fly soon.
Earlier Tuesday. the Nigerian Senate approved a non-binding motion asking the federal government to withdraw the
airline’s license and also for the suspension of NCAA Director-General Harold Demuren.until the conclusion of investigations
into the crash.
“Senate demands nothing, but a holistic investigation of the remote and immediate causes of the plane crash,” the upper legislative chamber said in a statement. “Senate would also insist that the probe this time should not be limited to Dana Airlines and their fleet, but all the airlines operating in Nigeria.”
The House of Representatives has also vowed to probe the crash.
The ill-fated plane was just about three minutes to landing when it crashed into a row of buildings in a densely populated area, shortly after declaring an emergency.
