19 March 07

VIRGIN NIGERIA RESUMES FLIGHT OPERATIONS ON LAGOS - PORT HARCOURT ROUTE

Lagos, Nigeria: 19 March 2007: Virgin Nigeria Airways Limited will on Wednesday 21 March 2007 resume flight operations to Port Harcourt operating a Fokker 50 aircraft into the Nigeria Air Force Base (NAF Base) Port Harcourt.

Making the disclosure during a cocktail in honour of top notch executives of Virgin Nigeria's corporate clients, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Conrad Clifford said: "It has become imperative for us to immediately resume operations on the Port Harcourt route using the NAF Base in response to passengers' demand of having direct access to Port Harcourt without having to make the journey from Owerri to their base by road, thereby reducing risk elements in their travels".

"Virgin Nigeria places emphasis on safety and security of passengers and we are constantly reviewing our operations to meet the expectations of our passengers", Conrad further said, adding that in leasing the Fokker 50 aircraft, Virgin Nigeria carried out all necessary airworthiness survey on the aircraft and the aircraft has also been duly certified airworthy by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) after due diligence and compliance with the mandatory pre-arrival safety inspection.

Virgin Nigeria will on resumption of the direct flight operations between Lagos and Port Harcourt operate up to three daily flights using the Fokker 50 aircraft to cater for Port Harcourt bound passengers while the Owerri operations will also be strengthened to cater for Owerri and neighbouring state passengers.

It will be recalled that Virgin Nigeria in line with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority's directive shutting down the airport to traffic for the commencement of rehabilitation work in August 2006 diverted all Port Harcourt bound flights to the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri because of its proximity in distance to Port Harcourt and its capacity to accommodate the Boeing 737 which Virgin Nigeria uses for her domestic operations.

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
 

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

Domestic services:
Lagos - Abuja: Eight times daily
***Lagos - Port Harcourt: (Now diverted to Owerri two times daily)
Lagos - Kano: Six times a week
Abuja - Kano: Six times a week
Lagos - Sokoto (via Abuja): Three times a week
Abuja - Sokoto: Three times a week
Lagos- Calabar: Six 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.