11 Sep 2012

Last international flights by Air Nigeria

3:29 pm on 11 September 2012

Air Nigeria is making its last international flights on Monday, having laid off 800 employees last week and suspending operations worldwide.

Investors behind the airline have struggled to deal with $US250 million in debt taken on when they bought the carrier from the Virgin Group two years ago, the BBC reports.

In June, Air Nigeria was grounded by regulators, after a crash in June involving a jet operated by Dana Air, which smashed into an apartment block in Lagos, killing 163 people.

The airline's demise leaves Nigeria with four domestic carriers operating scheduled flights.

The government is considering a strategy to create another national carrier.

Last week, IATA said the most pressing problem for African aviation is safety. The continent's record of accidents is nine times the worse than the global average.