Virgin Atlantic - One of the British airlines flying into Nigeria from London, Virgin Atlantic Airways, yesterday denied alleged plan to quit the Lagos-London route.
Marketing and Communications Manager, Mrs. Kudirat Scott-Igbene, while confirming the sack of about 20 Nigeria-based crew of the airline, said the step was necessary in order to sustain its flight operations on the route.
Scott-Igbene, in a terse e-mail to our correspondent, however, assured that the airline was not planning to quit the route it commenced about 14 years ago.
Sunday Mirror had yesterday reported that the giant British carrier was planning to stop flight operations following the sack of its Nigerian crew about three weeks ago without any severance package regardless of their length of service with the airline.
The airline had also in 2014 closed its Nigerian call centre and let go of all the Nigerian staff working in that department.
The communications manager explained that the primary purpose of having locally-based cabin crew was to provide cultural expertise, but customer feedback had shown the practice was no longer a requirement on the Lagos route.
She added, "The additional complexity required to operate an international crew base where there are no foreign language requirement means it was no longer sustainable going forward.
"This announcement has no impact on our flying programme and we plan to continue flights between Lagos and London. After 14 years flying the route we remain committed to servicing the Nigerian people, whether be it for business, family or education."
Source: National Mirror