Arik Air (W3, Lagos) has tentatively cancelled all flights for Tuesday, September 13 after it was forced to switch insurance providers at the last moment. Deputy Managing Director Ado Sanusi told Bloomberg news that the suspension was caused when the airline's original insurer failed to secure the foreign currency needed to remit premiums abroad.
"This situation is likely to continue for the next few days until such time that NAICOM (National Insurance Commission) approves a waiver on a priority basis for the new insurance company to renew the policy," a statement said.
Arik is the second Nigerian carrier, and the largest so far, to suffer significant operational disturbances as a result of the country's ongoing foreign currency shortages.
Earlier this month, the country's oldest carrier, Aero Contractors (N2, Lagos), suspended operations indefinitely citing the continued weakness of the naira and the impact of Nigeria's worsening economic crisis.
Arik Air operates two A330-200s, nine B737-700s, four B737-800s, one CRJ1000ER, four CRJ900s, and four Dash 8-400s on domestic Nigerian flights as well as flights to Benin, the Ivory Coast, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Liberia, Senegal, Cameroon, Angola, South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
