Nigerian domestic airlines are resorting to legal action in an effort to stop the establishment of Nigeria Air (NWB, Lagos), the federal government's joint venture with Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa), which they claim will be anti-competitive. According to This Day newspaper, the registered trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), including Azman Air, Air Peace, MaxAir (Nigeria), TopBrass Aviation, and United Nigeria Airlines, filed suit in the Lagos division of the Federal High Court of Nigeria on November 11, 2022, against Nigeria Air Limited, Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, Ethiopian Airlines, and Nigerian Attorney-General Abubakar Malami. The airlines have applied for an order revoking Nigeria Air's Air Transport License. Appearing before a Nigerian parliamentary committee on aviation last month, the AON already objected to the Nigerian Air transaction with Ethiopian Airlines, on the basis that it would hurt local airlines. AON spokesman Rolland Iyayi alleged Ethiopian Airlines aimed to penetrate the Nigerian aviation market to further its own agenda of dominating the aviation sector on the continent.

Source: Ethiopian News November 15, 2022 23:32 UTC