FG May Seize, Sell Dana Air Assets to Refund Passengers, Travel Agents – Keyamo

The Federal Government may move to recover and sell Dana Air’s assets to refund passengers and travel agents whose funds remain trapped following the suspension of the airline’s operations, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said.

Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja during the ministry’s fourth-quarter stakeholders’ engagement themed “Leveraging Public Feedback to Drive Excellence in Aviation Services,” Keyamo said the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would be instructed to probe why the airline had yet to refund affected customers.

He stressed that Dana Air’s suspension was based solely on safety concerns.
“For Dana, it was a choice between safety and disaster. Commercial considerations were not the priority. The reports we saw on the table were damning,” he said.

According to him, the NCAA acted on the safety findings, and he supported the decision, warning that continued operations could have put lives at risk.
“If they had continued flying, many of us could have been victims of one of those flights. God forbid,” he added.

Keyamo said he had directed Acting NCAA Director-General Chris Najomo to ensure all trapped funds are recovered.
“He must dig deep to find out how passengers and agents will be refunded,” he said.

The minister also warned that individuals linked to Dana Air would not be allowed to re-enter the aviation sector under any form until all outstanding debts were settled.
“If those entities or individuals attempt to register a new AOC or operate within the sector, they must settle their debts first,” he said.

Keyamo further suggested that the airline’s assets should be used to compensate affected passengers.
“There are assets available. Let them sell them. Let’s recover their revenue and pay people. NCAA should go after those assets because they can’t get away with it,” he said.