Alhaji Muneer Bankole, Chief Executive Officer, Medview Airline, has urged the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria to give priority to indigenous airlines in the allocation of pilgrims during Hajj operations.
Bankole was quoted by the airline’s Media Consultant, Obuke Oyibhota, as saying this at the inauguration of a 28-member Air Carriers Screening Committee for the 2018 Hajj operations in Abuja.
Bankole said the call was necessitated by NAHCON’s allocation of the lion share of pilgrims to be transported for Hajj to foreign operators over the years.
He said if NAHCON gave more allocations to indigenous carriers, it would create employment opportunities for many citizens.
He, however, commended the commission for the transparency and accountability it had displayed in the handling, screening and selection of air carriers since its inception in 2006.
Bankole said Medview Airline and Medview International Travel and Cargo Limited were among the eight airlines that applied for participation in the transportation of pilgrims for the 2018 Hajj.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the screening committee is headed by NAHCON Commissioner of Operations, Alhaji Abdullahi Moddibo.
Members of the committee are drawn from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency.
Others are from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Accident Investigation Bureau and the Nigeria Customs Service.