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The federal government has wrapped up its strategic engagement with the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, closing out the tour with a visit to Bombardier’s Laurent Beaudoin Completion Centre in Montreal, where Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo led a delegation of Nigerian airline operators, fulfilling a commitment he made on taking office in 2023 to build direct partnerships between Nigerian carriers and major global manufacturers.
Following earlier engagements with Boeing, Airbus and Embraer, the Bombardier visit completes the government’s full OEM engagement programme, designed to support fleet renewal, improve access to aircraft financing, expand technical cooperation, strengthen maintenance capability and boost the competitiveness of Nigerian airlines. In a statement issued through Special Adviser on Media Tunde Moshood, Keyamo said the objective has always been connecting Nigerian operators directly with the world’s leading manufacturers to strengthen indigenous capacity, modernise fleets, improve safety, enhance operational efficiency and ensure the aviation industry’s long term sustainability, describing Bombardier as a global leader in business aviation that manufactures the Challenger and Global series of executive aircraft and provides world class completion, maintenance, training and aftermarket support, an engagement he said aligns with ongoing federal reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s business and non scheduled aviation sector.
During the visit, the Nigerian delegation was walked through Bombardier’s manufacturing and completion processes, maintenance support systems, pilot and technical training programmes, digital technologies, aftermarket services and aircraft acquisition solutions, with the engagement expected to open up new collaboration opportunities in fleet modernisation, maintenance repair and overhaul, engineering support, technical capacity development, aviation training and aerospace technology transfer. The visit also advanced Keyamo’s fleet modernisation push by encouraging the acquisition of newer, safer, more fuel efficient aircraft while deepening partnerships among manufacturers, financiers, lessors and Nigerian operators. The successful completion of engagements with Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and Bombardier, Keyamo said, underscores the Tinubu administration’s commitment to repositioning Nigeria as Africa’s preferred aviation hub through strategic international partnerships, private sector collaboration and sustainable industry reform.
Keyamo was accompanied on the visit by Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority Director General Chris Najomo, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Managing Director Olubunmi Kuku, Nigeria’s Representative on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation Mahmoud Sani Ben Tukur, and other senior government officials and industry stakeholders.
