Arik refutes bankruptcy claims

In what it said was an attempt to discredit it and strengthen its competitors, an indigenous airline in the country, Arik Air has declared as untrue a report that the airline is in financial trouble and may be going bankrupt.

Arik in a statement by it communications officer, Chigozie Okereke, and made available to Ripples said that the “false and malicious publication is the handiwork of fly-by-night social media sites trying to ride on the popularity and huge followership of Arik Air, to attract attention or relevance to their sites”.

While explaining that the airline is not under any abnormal financial or operational difficulties, Okereke also stated, that reports of mass resignations of pilots and cabin crew are also totally inaccurate.

“We have gathered that certain elements of society who are envious of what we have accomplished since our commencement of operations, want to discredit us to strengthen our competitors”, she said.

Read also: FAAN clips Arik’s wings over N1.2b debt

The statement read in part, “These harbingers of bad news in their senseless sensationalism and quack journalism would stop at nothing including pulling down national institutions, and icons, in order to achieve their narrow pecuniary interests and those of their desperate sponsors. Arik Air is not deterred by this smear campaign.

“The airline has been steadily operating over one hundred flights on a daily basis which are being increased to one hundred and ten from the on-set of the winter season.

“For the records, we have recently concluded a new deal with Lufthansa Technik who will be maintaining our fleet of 28 airplanes up until 2019. In addition, we are taking delivery of 2 brand new Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft this winter season to further expand our domestic services and launch new services within Africa to cities such as Libreville.

“Arik Air is the only airline facilitating direct links between Ghana and Senegal by operating three weekly nonstop services between Dakar and Accra using a Boeing 737NG alongside three weekly flights to Monrovia from Accra”.

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now