Richard Barnson has become personally involved in the MMA2 fiasco and has written personally to President Yar'Adua:
Virgin Group President, Richard Branson, has written to President Umaru Yar’Adua to intervene in the directive to eject Virgin Nigeria from its operational base at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
Branson said the order violates the article of formation of the flag carrier signed by representatives of the government and himself.
The letter, dated January 30, sought the intervention of Yar’Adua as it would be counter productive for Virgin Nigeria to operate from the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 terminal as now directed by the authorities.
"The directive to split Virgin Nigeria’s domestic operations from its regional and international operations will put the achievements of the airline at risk as the ability for Virgin Nigeria to operate all services out of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport is a core condition of the Memorandum of Mutual Undertaking (MMU) which is the basis of the set up of the airline," Branson stated.
He noted that operating from one terminal is an absolute requirement for any national airline hoping to create an effective hub that will enable it to compete effectively on the world stage.
Virgin Nigeria was incorporated in Nigeria following the signing of a Memorandum of Mutual Undertaking (MMU) between the government and Virgin Atlantic Airways on 28 September 2004 to set up a flag carrier.
Last week, Virgin Nigeria secured an order from the Federal High Court in Lagos restraining aviation agencies of the Ministry of Transport from relocating its local operations to the domestic terminal of the airport.
But the airline cited safety concerns in its resistance to the order.