Dana Air recruits, trains 45 local pilots for operations

No fewer than 45 local pilots have been recruited and trained by Dana Air, as part of the airline’s contribution to the aviation industry.

The exercise that began in 2015, had the pilots trained in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Madrid, Spain, to boost capacity and reduce the burden of unemployed pilots in Nigeria.

In a related development, the airline has introduced a Special Services Unit, which consist of well-trained males and females to, among other functions, attend to passengers with special needs, urgent complaints, update passengers on current promos and benefits of Dana Miles at the airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Owerri.

Accountable Manager, Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo, said the capacity building initiative was part of the airline’s commitment to the growth and development of the Nigerian aviation industry.

Mbanuzuo said: “As at 2015, more than 500 Nigerian pilots were unemployed but with our recruitment and frequent training both locally and abroad since 2015, we have been able to reduce the number, by engaging these pilots and paying for their training in South Africa, and Spain.

“We will continue to encourage professionalism in the industry and support our Nigerian Pilots to ensure constant growth and development in the industry,” he said.

On the newly introduced Special Services Unit, Obi said the initiative was to further deepen customer service, offer multiple issue-solving options and provide seamless travel experience for its teeming guests.

“Only recently, we won World Stage Economic Summit’s Nigerian Airline of the Y​ear award for being inventive with our customer service and products, and there is need to keep raising the bar of service excellence. So, we do not let our guests who keep nominating Dana Air for awards down.”

Having flown over 2.7 million passengers in the last eight years, Dana Air is one of Nigeria’s leading airlines with over 27 daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Owerri. The airline is reputed for its innovative online-products, unrivaled on-time performance and World-class in-flight service.