Aero launches Abuja-Bauchi flights June 2; Mauduguri, Calabar to launch soon

• As MRO facility enact MoU with DRC, Ghana three others in tow

AERO CONTRACTORS has announced that from Wednesday June 2, 2021 it will commence flights from Abuja to Bauchi four times every week with competitive fares on its website starting from N24,000 introductory and has revealed plans to commence flights to Maiduguri and Calabar soon

This is just as the airline has enacted its agreements and can now maintain aircraft registered in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana while it says it in the process of getting approval to maintain aircraft registered Tunisia, Malta and Mongolia.

The company has also carried out maintenance on no fewer than 18 aircraft too in its facility and has revealed plans to try and expand its capacity to enable it carry out more at a time.  READ ALSO: Aero MRO has capacity for Embraers, NGs but will gravity towards market- Capt Sanusi

Managing Director and Accountable Manager of the airline, Captain Abdulahi Mahmood who announced the route launch among other things said that the airline will be launching flight services into Bauchi, ‘The Jewel of the Savannah’ and soon to Maiduguri’ The Home of Peace’  as one of its aircraft, a Boeing 737-400 was released from c-Check.”

The airline according to Captain Mahmood will  fly from Abuja four times weekly on Mondays, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday departing Abuja at 9:10 am and arriving Bauchi at 10:10am while it will depart Bauchi at 10:40am arriving Abuja at 11:40am every weekday.

On Sunday however, the airline will take off from Abuja at 9:50am with its return flight to Abuja at 11:20am and passengers from Lagos can also connect the flights using the 6:50am flight out of Lagos to Abuja on days of the service, he explained.

On the capacity to sustain the routes it plans to enter, the Aero Managing Director said it has enough to carry out its expansion stating that it has six aircraft excluding the two (2) being operated on behalf of the Cross River State Government.

He said, “Presently, as of today, there are three aircraft flying. I said the Q300 is under maintenance; it’s coming out, one aircraft which is in Jordan and will be joining us soon and a Boeing 737 sitting down right here waiting for maintenance. We are talking about six aircraft that is excluding the Cally Air, the two Cross River aircraft so with that we are thinking of 8 aircraft. READ ALSO: Aero Contractors C-Check capabilities to save over US $90million capital flight- Minister

Captain Mahmood also spoke on approvals to carry out maintenance of non- Nigerian registered aircraft stressing that it was part of the company’s plan to expand.

He said,”One last thing about MRO we have not told you guys, Aero MRO apart from having approval from NCAA, we mentioned Congo but you did not ask how we managed that. So Aero is approved by the Civil Aviation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and they are working with Tunisia now, Malta and Mongolia. READ ALSO: Aero inks deal to carry out checks on Ghanaian registered aircraft, eyes Congo

“ So all these we are working on to get the approval and getting the approval means any aircraft registered in those countries, Aero Contractors will maintain their aircraft that is why we are maintaining the aircraft, we are maintaining for Ghana because either Passion Air brings their aircraft here or our engineers go to them so that is part of our expansion, Aero is the airline  to watch out for.

Aero  also on its expansion  revealed that so far it will grow its capacity further to handle more than it currently can but has accommodated no fewer than 18 aircraft on third -party maintenance in its hangar and is expanding to enable it garner more capacity to handle more aircraft

Captain Mahmood said,” Now, does aero have the capacity to handle all aircraft? That is a million dollar question. Yes they do, no they don’t.  I know one thing for certain the Maintenance team are in discussions, on Friday a construction company was here and they were talking about expansion of this hangar that is one and secondly, they are going to sign another agreement with one hangar in Abuja  that can take capacity, it just to make sure and see how many aircraft we can accommodate.

On the aircraft that has been maintained by Aero on a third party basis, Head of the Aircraft Maintenance Organization (AMO), James Ominyi said that:

“We have done seven (7) 18months inspection on Air Peace aircraft, we have done three(3) C-Checks for Max Air, we have one C-Check for the democratic republic of Congo (DRC) making it eleven, we have done one C-Check for Dana Airlines making it twelve. We have done two C-Checks for Air Peace and they are trying to upgrade it to four C-Checks and they are at the hangar right now, if you look at these excluding Aero Contractors five, we should be talking seventeen, eighteen aircraft that we have maintained.”