"The Nigerian government asked Virgin some years ago to set up a national carrier that Nigerians could put their trust in and be proud of. Virgin agreed to help enable this to happen but made it clear that they would only invest considerable sums in Nigeria under certain strict criteria," Branson said yesterday.

"One of those was the ability to operate domestic and international flights out of the same terminal which is the only way a flag carrier of any country can operate. To my utter dismay, certain authorities in Nigeria have chosen to ignore our contract, sending in heavies a few months ago to smash up our domestic lounge with sledgehammers, in an attempt to intimidate the airline.

"The behaviour of the authorities was not what I would have expected from the authorities in Nigeria. Yesterday the authorities behaved in a similar fashion, despite a court case being imminent, by sending in the heavies yet again to dismantle our domestic check-in.

"If Virgin Nigeria can be treated in this way, can any company in the world seriously consider investing in Nigeria in the future? I urge the President of Nigeria and the authorities concerned to honour their contract and enable Virgin Nigeria to resume flying domestically with immediate effect, giving the service to their passengers that they’ve come to rely on and expect," Branson stated.

Can someone tell Branson what is meaning of compliance??

This is what we get when we SOLD ourself cheaply.

Sri Lanka is in a state of war -> they have solid national airline

Ethiopa is a hungry nation -> they have best airline in africa

Kenya is fully of AIDS  -> they have national airline

But Nigeria with all his wealth has to BEG Branson to come and help us:

This is one of the worst policies of that dump-head OBJ.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/Travel-and-Aviation/14513.html

Nigeria can't operate a national airline because, it becomes politicized, corrupted, and used to carry muslim hajj people every year for a loss.

this is an indictement on naija educated illeterates

@landis,

Exactly why are you blaming Virgin? Is there more to the story that you have not shared with us? So far, it seems that Naija is the one to blame.

And by the way, its not by force for a country to have a National Airline. The govt's job is to govern and not operate businesses that can be beter handled by the private sector.

Exactly why are you blaming Virgin? Is there more to the story that you have not shared with us? So far, it seems that Naija is the one to blame.

every country, industry and sector have its own compliance which operators must meet.

Nigeria has domestic and international airport while some other countries use 1 airport for both operations.

Virgin should comply ASAP with Nigeria system or get out. It is that simple.

What they cant do in EU or US or ASIA they will attempt to do here because we SOLD our self cheaply.

landis:

every country, industry and sector have its own compliance which operators must meet.

Nigeria has domestic and international airport while some other countries use 1 airport for both operations.

Virgin should comply ASAP with Nigeria system or get out. It is that simple.
What they can't do in EU or US or ASIA they will attempt to do here because we SOLD our self cheaply.

Are you saying that an initial agreement signed between 2 parties doesn't mean anything any more because one party simply happened to renovate an old domestic wing? Be real!

so where is the nonsense??the only nonsense i see is from the part of Nigerians!!I am with all branson said, how do they expect other investments in Niigeria in the future when everything is done with corruption and politics, don't be surprised in the nearer future, u see some politician with an airline, I am sure the pieces of the puzzle start falling into place. Nigeria needs good airlines and at this point just foreigners can give that, see how many lives where lost in '05, May their souls rest in peace,

Ok,

1. what did Nigeria do wrong?
2. what did virgin do wrong?

Hellypelly,i concur.Virgin may be flexin muscles but they have every rzn to.What xactly is a contract?Besides the matter is still with the Appeal court so y does a govt that hinges its administration on rule of law want to jump d gun.

Are you saying that an initial agreement signed between 2 parties doesn't mean anything any more because one party simply happened to renovate an old domestic wing?

If Branson has this contract let him produced it.

FAAN and Ministry of Aviation owns AIRPORT and not FG.

The fact that OBJ did rubbish does not mean there are no clear-separation.

He should know better and sign a contract with VALID partner. Otherwise he get out of Nigeria.

International = international travel
Domestic = domestic travel

It is clear to a dummmy, which Branson is not.

and the ministry of aviation is under??, even i know nothing bout naija politics but i use CS, but you're flexing muscle here *smh* and whats the full meaning of FAAN again

landis:

If Branson has this contract let him produced it.

FAAN and Ministry of Aviation owns AIRPORT and not FG.

The fact that OBJ did rubbish does not mean there are no clear-separation.

He should know better and sign a contract with VALID partner. Otherwise he get out of Nigeria.

International = international travel
Domestic = domestic travel

It is clear to a dummmy, which Branson is not.

If the Nigerian Government signed an agreement with Virgin, that agreement should be kept.  Or he should be compensated.

Seun:

If the Nigerian Government signed an agreement with Virgin, that agreement should be kept.  Or he should be compensated.

Seun you are right. My friend's dad sits on the board for Virgin Nigeria and trust me those MEN GOT PAID for this deal.

Thats the problem with Nigeria, Fools sign agreements without knowledge or examining any other issue or factor as long as you PAY THEM. THEY KEEP SHUT then later they want to renege on the contract.

ugh please tell them, they are bound by a contract and they choose to breech it, I wonder when Naija people wd just stop thinking of themselves and think bout the country as a whole, *smh*

madamkoko:

Seun you are right. My friend's dad sits on the board for Virgin Nigeria and trust me those MEN GOT PAID for this deal.

Thats the problem with Nigeria, Fools sign agreements without knowledge or examining any other issue or factor as long as you PAY THEM. THEY KEEP SHUT then later they want to renege on the contract.

view from other boards:

William Eguegu on 12 August, 2008 10:09:25

Is the Virgin Boss ok? International terminals are for international flights while domestic terminals are for domestic flights! Does Virgin have a domestic flight charter for heathrow? Or should the authorities not correct the errors made by the previous administration. Has the current Mayor of London [Mr Boris] not scrap some of the ideas made by his predecesor [Ken Livingstone] e.g The planned replacement of the "bendy bus" manufactured by Mercedes Benz. So the car maker can also declare that London is not a safe investment haven then?
Its just ridiculous. It reeks of the characteristic superiority complex of the British."I am a British billonaire so I cant be told what to do" While I appreciate Mr Branson's input to the improvement of my country, I dare say he should respect our governments decision to do what is right, and if that means correcting mistakes or fixing unfair contract terms [as defined by the British Office of Fair Trading, then so be it!

Its just ridiculous. It reeks of the characteristic superiority complex of the British."

Crying wolf after the fact. Nonsense!!!!

I'm always surprised why Nigerian officials always are always quick to sign contracts/deals with EXTERNAL(foreign) sources, is it always because of the profit they think they can possibly make?

Why don't we invest money, into building our own infrastructure,  (this may just open another can of worms.) I'll end there.

Nigeria is almost right i will say, there is a contract and that's what is making Nigeria look like they are on the wrong side.

There nothing wrong with what Nigeria did but they should have done it the right way, Virgin should formally be made to understand that as from a certain time domestic flight should be operated at the right place, which is very logical.

Virgin cannot reject this, they can only state conditions.

poster both kenya airways and srilankan airline major shares are owned by other airlines from other countries, sri lankan is owned by emirates and kq by airfrance/klm, its this kind of things that this gov is doing that make it almost impossible to operate a gov business

The contract Branson (Virgin Nigeria) has with Nigeria states that MMIA is going to be their hub. The
contract does not state that both domestic and international flights shall originate from the international
terminal of MMIA.

The contract says MMIA (which now has a local & international terminal) but didn't state specifically
that all Virgin Nigeria flights (both foreign and domestic) shall originate from the international terminal.

So, as long as the federal govt asks Virgin Nigeria to move anywhere within the MMIA premises, it still falls
within the confines of the contract.

Richard Branson should respect our laws and quit being a hard a$$.

has anyone here seen the contract?

Anyone coming to do business in Nigeria must hire Nigerians to look into all the possible challenges. Branson did himself in on this one.

This bloody Branson is milking us dry and spiting on our faces, no thanks to OBJ

A source told THISDAY that Virgin Nigeria leased its aircraft at very high costs from Virgin Atlantic when it started operations.
It is said to be paying Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, for using the Virgin franchise, in addition to high salaries to the personnel seconded to the airline from Virgin Atlantic.

landis:

This bloody Branson is milking us dry and spiting on our faces, no thanks to OBJ

and that is because Nigeria has failed on all fronts

it is pathetic for a nation as big and rich like Nigeria to rely on partnership deals with foreign airlines to be able to lay claim to a national carrier

the rip off of a nation continues due to Bad Advice, Mismanagement, Bad leadership, Selfishness, Corruption and many more

Do i blame Branson? NO!!_{savvy biz man all abt making money, no problem with that!}

From what I gathered from other sources, Virgin Nigeria signed an agreement to operate a hub within MMIA but not that both international and local fligths will originate from the international terminal. And before virgin came to Nigeria and signed this contract, a contract has already been finalised and signed by the contractor that built MMA2 for domestic flights. And in this contract, there is a provision that after the MMA2 is completed all domestic flights should originate from there. This clause was there so the contractor can make profit from his investment since it was on BOT which means after some years of operation, the contractor will hand it over to the government.

This contract was there and the construction of MMA2 was already on before virgin entrance. If Virgin is allowed to operate its domestic flight on the international wing then govt will be in breach of this first BOT contract and ofcourse the contractor will lose money. I don't see what virgin will lose by relocating their domestic operations to MMA2.

The Virgin story update

Passengers Flock MMA2 as V’Nigeria Halts Operation
By Chinedu Eze, 08.15.2008

The domestic terminals of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport – General Aviation Terminal (GAT) and MMA2 – were crowded yesterday by passengers who scrambled to buy tickets from others airlines as Virgin Nigeria Airways stopped domestic operations for the fourth day.
The airline stopped operating domestic services since its imbroglio with the Federal Government which directed it to move its domestic operations from the international wing to MMA2.
THISDAY learnt that Virgin Nigeria records an average of 60 take-offs from the Lagos airport, conveying about 6,000 passengers to other destinations in the country from Lagos.
With its cessation of domestic operations, the passengers now besiege other airlines to book flights.
When THISDAY visited Virgin Nigeria counters at MMA2, the airline’s officials said they were not taking in passengers and did not know when they would resume operations again.
At the ticketing office of Virgin Nigeria, officers were attending to passengers who had bought the airline’s tickets before the impasse and were transferring them to other airlines.
Olu Fidel Ohunaya, former president of National Cabin Crew Association, told THISDAY that the passenger surge owed to the fact that some Nigerians prefer to fly by particular airlines and as Virgin Nigeria suddenly closed domestic operations, it reverberated negatively on the industry.
“After the air crash involving Sosoliso and Bellview airlines, government issued a statement that Aero and Virgin Nigeria were the only safe airlines in the country and since then people decided to fly the two airlines. While people were rushing to buy their tickets, other airlines would be flying half empty aircraft.”
It also emerged yesterday that the Federal Government might not have changed its position on its directive to Virgin Nigeria to move.
Industry experts are expressing worries over the financial impact the crisis would have on the airline.
A source told THISDAY that Virgin Nigeria leased its aircraft at very high costs from Virgin Atlantic when it started operations.
It is said to be paying Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, for using the Virgin franchise, in addition to high salaries to the personnel seconded to the airline from Virgin Atlantic.
Some industry experts also query the validity of the Memorandum of Mutual Understanding (MMU) between Virgin Nigeria and the Federal Government, especially as part of the conditions stated that the airline “in its capacity as a flag carrier does not do or permit to be done anything which would violate Nigerian laws and regulations, including laws and regulations relating to matters of strategic security and economic interest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Security is being cited as the reason the Federal Government asked the airline to move its domestic operations to MMA2.

Branson finally caves in

[size=14pt]Virgin Nigeria Commences Domestic Flight from MMA2[/size]

http://www.channelstv.com/newsdetails.php?news_id=5345

Virgin Nigeria has finally commenced its domestic operations from the Murtala Muhammed Airport two.

A visit to the terminal this morning revealed that while two flights for Abuja and Benin had taken off earlier in the day, other passengers were seen making enquiries at the airline’s check-in-counter.

It will be recalled that the Federal Government shut down the airlines domestic operations from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday following Virgin Nigeria’s refusal to obey an earlier relocation order.

@poster

Kenya is fully of AIDS

what kind of racist comment is that?

How in the world is Virgin the problem in this case? The piece there states that Nigerian officials are to blame, so how this get turned around?

I sit back laughing because VIRGIN NIGERIA is a very arrogant (not confident) airline with their heads in the clouds yet unable to provide basic service, I call then NIGERIAN AIRWAYS 2!!!! In tems of Flight delays , unprofessionalism, inefficiency, morbid incompetence and what a corporate entity should not be , VIRGIN NIGERIA IS A CLEAR LEADER. They are simply arrogant and see themselves as untouchables because they must have paid bribes to the BIG MEN in government. I remember, just after the painful Plane crashes and losses of 2005; at forum organised at Abuja by the Obasanjo's regime, the Virgin Nigeria's MD opened his sewage tank (that some would label a mouth) and said "whoever could not stand the heat in the kitchen should get out" which was so insensitive and outright stupid to say in the face of such serious matters and angiush. Virgin Nigeria cannot match Aero or the new ARIK in terms of service, QED.

On the other hand, our BIG FAT STOMACH OGA and former LORD of ASO ROCK decided to sell us cheap to a worthless organisation like Virgin Nigeria; The CONFUSED TENANT of ASO Villa is busy sidonning and YARA LOOKING waiting to reverse and revert. I salute the courage of the Transport Minister who kicked the skunks out of MMIA.

A case of hunter running accross an antelope wey wan die, that na partership!!!! . Virgin Nigeria + Nigerian Government = BAD WATTERY STOOL

That's what happens when you have uneducated as well as educated illiterates running a country. How do you expect development and foreign investments when you can not even honor a contract no matter how bad it is. It just shows the jungle mentality of a lot my fellow Nigerians. We want to be taken seriously around the world yet we can't even build and maintain roads, we can't provide electricity for our fellow Nigerians, we can't pick up the trash on our streets, we can't provide decent health care for our citizens heck our government doesn't even know its left from its right hand yet we want to be taken seriously.

Looks like this country is cursed at least, not a big fan of Obasanjo but at least we knew where he stood yet the same can not be said of the current government. Shame on all of us Nigerians.

Not a fan of Virgin Airlines or the virgin brand but I must tell you, if we want to move forward as a country we need to start honoring contracts/agreements no matter how unfavorable they are or at least negotiate a settlement if u don't like a contract, and not by applying brute force to obtain ur objective.

Now that Virgin have started operating from the local terminal, i think it should be case closed

But investigations have shown VNA had a weak argument in that regard. No clause in the MMA provides or gives it permission to carry out all its operations from the international airport(s). Instead it is an attached letter signed by Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic and Isa Yuguda who was then the Minister of Aviation, which permitted the airline to use the “relevant international terminals in Nigerian airports for all the airline’s operation.” Unfortunately, the said letter was not an addendum to the MMA, nor was it ever referred to in the agreement, and may therefore be deemed non-binding.

In spite of controlling 35 per cent of the aviation industry’s passenger traffic in the country and its dominance on key routes such as Lagos and Port Harcourt and Lagos and Abuja, the airline since it commenced flights in 2005 has consistently posted losses, resulting in an accumulated deficit of N16.057 billion in February 2007, up from N6.535 billion in 2006. Worse still, Virgin Atlantic which gave it international leverage and acceptance has been under pressure for almost a year from Singapore Airlines to dispose of its stake in VNA. Singapore Airlines acquired a 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic from the Virgin Group for £600.25 million in 2000. The Asian airline has, however, been concerned that Virgin Atlantic entered into a loss making venture which is impacting on its bottom line and ability to consolidate its business with other potential flying partners.

Very clear Virgin Nigeria could go burst anytime.