Posted by This Day on
Today marks seventy years of British Airways' operation in Nigeria. 70years ago, precisely, February 9, 1936, the British Imperial Airways Dehavilland 86 aircraft landed at the Kano airport, now renamed after Late Mallam Aminu Kano.
Today marks seventy years of British Airways' operation in Nigeria. 70years ago, precisely, February 9, 1936, the British Imperial Airways Dehavilland 86 aircraft landed at the Kano airport, now renamed after Late Mallam Aminu Kano.
BA General Manager, West Africa, Shafiul Syed said yesterday: "Our presence in Nigeria in the last 70 years is an enormous challenge to us to give the very best that Nigerian passengers demand. We are mindful of the competitive environment in the industry which offers passengers varying options, and we are determined to always ensure that we offer superior service and good value for money to our numerous passengers.
"Our services have evolved over the years. Our mission is to continue to respond to market needs, be innovative and remain a market leader".
When the first scheduled flight arrived in Kano in 1936 it was heralded in a spectacular fashion by the Emir and people who staged a full scale Durbar of a hundred horsemen clad in chain mail and black ostrich feathers in their helmets, thundered across the airfield to halt at the nose of the plane to deliver their welcome.
Over the years, British Airways has evolved from AT&T to Imperial Airways which nationalised with the then British Airways to form British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in 1939, which gave birth to British Caledonian (BCAL) in 1970, and thereafter the merging of BOAC with BEA (British European Airways) in 1974 to create British Airways.
Committed to bringing benefits to its customer around the world, British Airways' services in Nigeria have given boost to international commerce and tourism. With a daily non-stop service between Lagos to London Gatwick and a thrice weekly service between Kano to London Gatwick - with the exception of the 14 month impasse 1997 - 1998 -BA's services in Nigeria is second to none.
Over £735,000 [N151.4 million] has also been committed to various 'Change for Good' projects in Nigeria. Other areas of assistance include social mobilization and the training of various categories of social/ Health workers, in collaboration with UNICEF.
There was the provision of immunization services, the building of Primary Health Centres, construction of roads leading to project sites, provision of drinking water and environmental sanitation materials, granting of soft-loans to boost income level through small business ventures and intervention in children education to mention a few.