Nigeria Airways

Nigeria Airways
Founded	23 August 1958 (after the dissolution of WAAC)
Commenced operations	1 October 1958
Ceased operations	2003
Hubs	Murtala Muhammed International Airport;
Secondary hubs	Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport;
Focus cities	Port Harcourt International Airport;
Destinations	9 (at the time of closure)
Parent company	Government of Nigeria (100%)
Headquarters	Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Key people	Peter Gana (CEO) (at the time of closure)

Nigeria Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Nigeria Airways, was a Nigerian airline. The company was founded in 1958 after the dissolution of West African Airways Corporation (WAAC). It held the name West African Airways Corporation Nigeria (WAAC Nigeria) until 1971, when it was rebranded to the name it had until it ceased operations in 2003. The government of Nigeria owned a majority of the airline (51%) until 1961, when it boosted its shareholding in the company to 100% and made it the country's flag carrier. At the time of dissolution, the airline's headquarters were at Airways House in Abuja. Operations were concentrated at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and served both domestic and international destinations mainly concentrated in West Africa; the network also had points in Europe, North America and Saudi Arabia. The airline was managed by a number of foreign companies, including British Airways, KLM and South African Airways.^[2]^[3]

Nigeria Airways had its heyday in the early 1980s, just before the departure of a KLM team that had been hired to make the airline efficient and profitable. At that time, its fleet consisted of about 30 aircraft, but the carrier was two years behind with its accounts to the extent that aircraft were acquired for cash.^[4]^[5]^[6] Owned or leased, the carrier operated a variety of aircraft during its history, including the Vickers VC10, the Airbus A310, the Boeing 737 and 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, of which it flew the last one ever built. Plagued by mismanagement, corruption, and overstaffing, at the time of closure the airline had debts totalling US$528 million (equivalent to US$838 million in 2023), a poor safety record, and its operative fleet comprised a single aircraft flying domestic routes as well as two leased aircraft operating the international network.^[7]^[8] Nigeria Airways was succeeded by Virgin Nigeria, and the ground facilities were taken over by Arik Air.

^ Cite error: The named reference FI2003-50 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Falcons' Victory, Nigeria Airways Failure; Metaphors Nigeria’s Malaise was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Nigerian pilots threaten strike action was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Nigeria Airways halves workforce was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Africa's fastest-growing airline-II was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Africa's fastest-growing airline-IV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Virgin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Nigeria gets tough on air safety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FI2003-50-1] Cite error: The named reference FI2003-50 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Falcons'_Victory,_Nigeria_Airways_Failure;_Metaphors_Nigeria’s_Malaise-2] Cite error: The named reference Falcons' Victory, Nigeria Airways Failure; Metaphors Nigeria’s Malaise was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Nigerian_pilots_threaten_strike_action-3] Cite error: The named reference Nigerian pilots threaten strike action was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Nigeria_Airways_halves_workforce-4] Cite error: The named reference Nigeria Airways halves workforce was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Africa's_fastest-growing_airline-II-5] Cite error: The named reference Africa's fastest-growing airline-II was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Africa's_fastest-growing_airline-IV-6] Cite error: The named reference Africa's fastest-growing airline-IV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Virgin-7] Cite error: The named reference Virgin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Nigeria_gets_tough_on_air_safety-8] Cite error: The named reference Nigeria gets tough on air safety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]