/ 18 March 1999

VIRGIN OUT OF NIGERIA DEAL

VIRGIN Atlantic Airways owned by British entrepreneur Richard Branson has pulled out of talks with Nigeria’s state-owned carrier over a co-operation pact. The British airline decided to scrap talks with Nigeria Airways after opposition to their proposed deal emerged from the Nigerian government and industry bodies. The Nigerian government last month criticised the proposed deal, under which Virgin and the cash-strapped Nigerian carrier would have co-operated on set routes and Virgin would have leased its counterpart a number of aircraft.

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