Max Air begins evacuation of stranded Nigerians From Ukraine

Max Air begins evacuation of stranded Nigerians From Ukraine

Max Air said on Tuesday that it will begin the evacuation of Nigerians who had been stuck due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as of today (Wednesday), and that the process would begin immediately.

On the other side, Air Peace said that it had not begun the evacuation procedure and that this information will be made public as soon as possible.

Mr. Raymond Omodiagbe, Max Air’s General Manager of Operations, said our reporter that the Federal Government had ordered the airline to carry out the assignment, and that the company was ready to commence operations immediately.

He said, “We have been assigned and we are on it. We’ve been airlifting pilgrims to Hajj and doing chartered operations for many years. So we are not new to this.

“So understand that we have been commissioned and we will depart tomorrow (Wednesday). We are operating tomorrow and it is to start bringing in the people.”

Upon being asked to specify the number of aircraft or airplanes that would be used in the operation’s execution, Omodiagbe said, “We are executing it one at a time.”

On being questioned about when Air Peace will begin evacuating Nigerians as requested by the Federal Government, a representative for the airline, Stanley Olisa, said that the information would be conveyed shortly after being received.

“We have not begun yet, but details will be revealed shortly,” he informed our reporter in an interview.

On Monday, the Federal Government said that it will begin the evacuation of around 2,000 Nigerians who had left the conflict in Ukraine to neighboring nations on Wednesday, citing security concerns.

During an interview with Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ show, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, announced that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd. ), has sanctioned monies for the airlines to transport Nigerians out of the country.

When asked whether the number of evacuees was around 2,000, and when the evacuation would take place, he said, “Hopefully, on Wednesday…

He said that there were around 8,000 Nigerians in Ukraine, with 5,000 of them being students, and that the Federal Government had recommended Air Peace and Air Max to fly the Nigerians who want to be evacuated out of the country through airlift.