Medview Airlines said yesrterday that it would suspend its Dubai operations until March 24. Its Managing Director, Muneer Bankole disclosed this at a briefing in Lagos.
Medview began Dubai operations last December 7.
He said the airline was not suspending operations on account of indebtedness but took the decision to create time to fix its aircraft.
Bankole said: โโWe have shut down Dubai operations till March 24th when our own aircraft B767-300ER returns from complete refurbishment in the UK. Passengers who have booked with us will be flown to their destination via interline arrangements.โ
Speaking on its recent challenges with its London operations, the airlineโs MD said the airline has paid 1.45million pounds for service provided by Menzes, its ground handlers in UK and has an outstanding of 37,000 pounds.
He futher disclosed that the airline had paid 45,000 pounds ahead, which could be accessed in case there was any default.
He stressed that the ground handling company had no basis for grounding their operations, as they could have accessed the security fund which had been paid ahead.
Speaking on the challenging environment, he said: โOn this part of the world, it is difficult to compete with the big players on the other side. If you do not have the resources and support from the central bank to provide you dollars for your operations, there is no how you can survive.
โThere is no place in this country or in this part of the world, where you have a basic Maintenace Repair Overhaul, such that if anything happens to your aircraft, you can maintain it. There are no spare parts vendor that can provide you support in 24 hours but in Europe, there are platforms 24 hours working.โโ
