Arik Air is a Nigerian airline operating a domestic, regional and international flight
network.
It is currently the largest airline operator in Nigeria and also the national carrier of
Sierra Leone.
It operates mainly from two hubs at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and
Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Arik Air's head office is the Arik Air Aviation Center on the grounds of Murtala Muhammed
International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.
History On 3 April 2006, Arik Air took over the former
Nigeria Airways facilities in Lagos, some three years after its liquidation, and began
reconstruction work.
On 14 June 2006, Arik took delivery of 2 new Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft to fly domestic
routes throughout Nigeria and, within the African continent from Summer 2006, 2 ex-United
Airlines Boeing 737–300s and 3 50 seat Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft.
On 30 October 2006, Arik began scheduled passenger flights with four flights between Lagos and
Abuja using CRJ 900 aircraft.
Flight operations began to Calabar on 15 November 2006 and services to Benin City and Enugu
started on 7 January 2007.
The airline is wholly owned by Ojemai Investments.
The Nigerian government set a deadline of 30 April 2007 for all airlines operating in
the country to re-capitalise or be grounded in an effort to ensure better services and
safety.
The airline satisfied the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s criteria in terms of re-capitalisation
and was re-registered for operation.
On 4 April 2008, Arik Air was given permission to fly to the United States by the US Department
of Transportation.
Arik Air transported its 5 millionth passenger on 6 August 2010 and it transported its 10
millionth passenger on 18 September 2012, both on flights beteween Johannesburg and
Lagos.
On 20 September 2012, the airline cancelled all its domestic operations after aviation
officials raided the airline's office in Lagos, Nigeria.
Flights resumed on 23 September.
Destinations
Arik Air has built up a strong domestic network.
It covers mainly Nigerian and several other Western African destinations.
In August 2006, the Federal Ministry of Aviation granted Arik Air authorisation to fly to Trinidad
and Tobago and Amsterdam, London, Madrid in Europe.
Furthermore, the airline then planned to fly to Atlanta, Miami, and Houston in the United
States and Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
Arik Air started international operations to London-Heathrow on 15 December 2008, using
Airbus A340-500 aircraft.
It added Johannesburg on 1 June 2009 New York JFK on 30 November 2009.Dubai on 28 July 2014.
Subsidiary airline Arik Niger commenced operations in April 2009, but was shut down in February
2010.
Fleet
The Arik Air fleet includes the following aircraft as of September 2014:
Arik Air had also placed an order for five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which was cancelled
in 2011.
Rumours have spread that Arik Air converted an order for two Boeing 747-8I aircraft back
into an order for two 777-300ERs in 2013, however, no such cancellation has materialised,
nor was the order of two 777-300ER aircraft confirmed by Boeing.
The order for 2 747-8I aircraft still stands and is still listed by the Boeing company.
April 2014 Management Bungle In April 2014 Arik Air flight W3 107 which
was bound from Lagos to New York was delayed by several hours.
Boarded passengers encountered extremely hot conditions as the air conditioning was not
functioning, this lead to many passengers venting their anger and frustration, with
some fainting and others taking clothing off to deal with the unbearable heat.
The aircraft was stranded for many hours at Murtala Muhammed Airport, due to a lack of
fuel and flight personnel.
Enraged passengers eventually disembarked back into the airport boarding lounge where
neither the flight management, or the management of Nigeria's aviation authorities could be
contacted.
See also
Transport in Nigeria Airlines of Africa
References
External links Arik Air
Arik Wings