The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says the Federal Government may recover and sell the assets of Dana Air to refund passengers and travel agents whose funds remain trapped following the suspension of the airline’s operations.

Keyamo made this known in Abuja on Tuesday during the Ministry’s fourth-quarter stakeholders’ meeting, which focused on improving accountability and service delivery in the aviation sector. The event carried the theme, “Leveraging Public Feedback to Drive Excellence in Aviation Services.”

He explained that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would be instructed to investigate why Dana Air has yet to refund affected customers. According to him, the agency suspended the airline strictly on safety grounds, not commercial considerations.

“For Dana, the issue was a choice between safety and disaster,” the Minister said. “We didn’t treat their commercial interest as a priority. The priority was the safety of Nigerians, based on the damning safety reports we saw. If they had continued flying, many of us might have been victims of a major disaster. God forbid.”

Keyamo added that he had directed the NCAA’s Director-General, Captain Chris Najomo, to investigate how all affected passengers and travel agents can be refunded.

He further warned that the owners of the airline would not be allowed to return to the aviation sector under any new company or operating certificate without first settling their outstanding debts.

“We should look at their assets. If they still have assets, they should be sold. Let us recover whatever we can and use it to pay Nigerians who are owed,” he said. “The NCAA must make sure they do not escape their responsibilities.”

Keyamo stressed that the government would not allow any operator to “get away with” abandoning passengers and leaving their funds unpaid.