October 04, 2006

VIRGIN NIGERIA EXPLAINS INABILITY TO AIRLIFT PILGRIMS

Lagos: Wednesday, 04 October 2006: Virgin Nigeria has announced that it could not airlift pilgrims for the Umrah over the weekend in Kano because of the failure of the Saudi authorities to grant it landing slots.

The inability to airlift the pilgrims according to the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Conrad Clifford is as a result of the last minute request by the Saudi authorities for a fresh submission of papers, which Virgin Nigeria had already filed with the authority and duly acknowledged.

Speaking on the development, Conrad said: "it was a surprise to us when at the eleventh hour we were asked to re-submit documents which we had earlier filed with the Saudi authorities which were acknowledged by them and despite the fact that Virgin Nigeria has been duly designated on the route by the Federal Government of Nigeria".

"On the strength of our designation, we set the machinery in motion for hitch free Umrah operations, especially in the area of sourcing for an aircraft and eventual leasing from Europe. The aircraft, a modern state of the art Boeing 767-300 and crew members have been on ground at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano since Saturday, September 30, 2006".

"It is ironic that we have the aircraft, the crew and the government approvals to operate and yet we are being blocked at every turn. We feel perplexed and very disappointed over this turn of events as all attempts to resolve the issue with the Saudi authorities have not produced any positive result to date".

 "We therefore call on all pilgrims that have been booked on our service for their patience and to assure them of our deepest regret for a situation beyond our understanding and that Virgin Nigeria is doing everything possible to ensure that they are airlifted to and from the holy land within the specified time frame", Conrad said.

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: (Now diverted to Owerri two times daily)
***Abuja - Port Harcourt: (Now diverted to Owerri once daily)
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.