Well, I Guess I'm Not Flying Arik Air Anytime Soon...

Arik has been taken over by AMCON (viz. it has been nationalised as a strategic asset that would otherwise have to liquidate). It will never return with its previously unsustainable business model.

For the sake of their employees, who have been effectively forced to provide services for free for the last many months or else abandon all claims to previous amounts owed, one would hope that a cancer like this airline never graces the Nigerian skies again.

Out of curiosity, let's say they do start flying again.....how long would you personally need to watch and wait on their operations to have confidence that they are airworthy, both in terms of physical safety and also solvency (so that they wouldn't go bankrupt between ticket purchase and flight)?

It reads just like a letter I received from a Nigerian prince talking about an inheritance with my name on it.

@John - I believe the solvency issue can be solved by buying a ticket a few weeks out on a credit card. If they go belly up you can then charge back the ticket. Safety is a whole different issue.

In other words, we don't want to let any extremely expensive assets land in first world airports where our creditors may be able to get a first world legal system to hold it there until we pay them.

You can still fly Medview airlines to come visit Lagos from LGW - and connect to the new SAA 330 to JNB...

The Abuja airport is scheduled to close for 6 weeks starting March 7, and all flights will be sent to Kaduna 100 miles away. Kaduna has several travel warnings issued for it too, with high risks of violence and terrorism, so how they think they are going to safely bus people 100 miles to Abuja is beyond me.

725 Arik Air / W3 was already suspended from the IATA BSP here since last week.
Means that agents couldn't issue/refund 725-stocked tickets anymore.

"Well, I Guess I’m Not Flying Arik Air Anytime Soon…"

Fortunately....

Rest assured, only the most loathsome trolls here were looking forward to a trip report with Arik. 😉

You dodged a bullet. I flew them out of Lagos two weeks ago, and it's the worst airline I've ever experienced: they cancelled my flight and staff demanded a big cash payment to be put on another flight. When I refused, I got to enjoy harassment, intimidation and threats from Arik staff. Eventually I had no choice but to bribe my way on to the flight. I later found out that my original flight had not even been cancelled. It was all a scam. Perpetrated by the airlines' own staff.

Arik is an absolute disgrace. The sooner they go bankrupt and close down, the better.

TOTAL SHAMBLES
ARIKKKKK AIRLINE

Travelled to Lagos 6th of Dec and luggage arrived 7days later..........................flight back from Lagos 30th of Dec to London and luggage was delivered 10days later.

ZERO customer service
The CEO can not run a business, he should be stopped from setting up a business.

Never again even if it is a free ticket.

You should try Surinam Airways!

Hey I two weeks ago I bought a ticket using my CSR card from ROB to JNB on Arik to fly in April. Any ideas on what I should do? I already have some hotels which are not refundable but not many (mostly using points). What I am really worried about is the $1,200 I shelled out for the tickets.

I should be flying out of London to Lagos on Arik Air in March, a flight pre booked about two months ago. I contacted my travel agent on what to do when news of suspension came up, the agent asked me to speak directly with arik office in Lagos, and the Lagos office sent me to my agent to apply for refund. The agent claims arik air is already suspended on iata and no way of application for a refund or otherwise, in contacting arik management in London. I understand Medview air is having arrangement with them on the side. Please advise me on what to do, cos right now I'm in state of dilema.
Tomiwa London

Tomiwa, do a chargeback via your credit or debit card. I'm in the uk, this applies to visa, MasterCard or amex.