March 30, 2006

VIRGIN NIGERIA SUPPORTS NIGERIA OIL & GAS CONFERENCE

Lagos, March 30, 2006: Virgin Nigeria, the country's fully private sector flag carrier, has been designated as the 'Official Airline Carrier' for the sixth Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG 6) Strategic Conference, which will hold at the International Conference Centre, Abuja from April 3 to 5.

The airline is also supporting NOG 2006 with sponsorship of Coffee Breaks of the Content Seminar & Technical Sessions. Both sessions will involve technical presentations from key indigenous and international industry experts in a range of sectors within the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Head, Public Affairs of the airline, Mr. Larry Agose, said Virgin Nigeria's support of NOG 2006 stems from the company's belief in the objectives of the conference, which theme is "Fulfilling Potential and Enabling the Economy."

"The Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference has become one of the most important economic forums in Nigeria and Virgin Nigeria is pleased to identify with the vision of the organisers of this event where all stakeholders can meet and exchange ideas on how to achieve success in the utilization of the country's natural resources," Agose said.

He acknowledged the contribution of the oil sector to the development of Nigeria's infrastructures and other industries, stressing that aviation has also become a vital sector for investment, which has a huge potential of making significant contribution to the growth of the nation's economy. Agose said: "Virgin Nigeria, in recognition of the potential of the aviation industry in national development, has continually explained its aspiration of becoming a leading global aviation operator based in Nigeria," stressing, "We have remained steadfast in working to attain this goal." It will be recalled that Virgin Nigeria was recently admitted into the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global organisation for inter-airline co-operation after the successful conclusion of audit of its operations by IATA.

Prior to this, Virgin Nigeria also successfully passed safety and security audits by three major multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria as well as its technical partner Virgin Atlantic Airways.

About Virgin Nigeria:
Virgin Nigeria is the registered, fully private sector flag carrier of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, owned 51% by Nigerian Institutional shareholders and 49% by Virgin Atlantic.

The airline operates the following

intercontinental services:
Lagos to London: Daily
Johannesburg: Three times a week
Dubai: Three times a week

Regional services:
Accra: Daily
Douala: Two times a week
Dakar: Two times a week

Domestic services:
Lagos - Abuja: Six times daily
***Lagos - Port Harcourt: Four times daily now temporarily cancelled
***Abuja - Port Harcourt: Once daily now temporarily cancelled
Lagos - Kano: Five times a week
Abuja - Kano: Five times a week

For reservations, call (01) 460 0505; (01) 271 1111; (09) 461 0505; (084) 460505

For all press enquiries, please contact: corporatecommunications@virginnigeria.com

For media information in Nigeria only, please contact Corporate Communications, 3rd floor, Ark towers, Plot 17 Ligali Ayorinde Street, VI, or corpcomm@virginnigeria.com; 234 -1 – 2711144

For media information in the UK please contact the Virgin Atlantic Press Office on 01293 747 373.