The new owners of former Virgin Nigeria Eagle Airlines, NICON Group, have renamed the airline, Air Nigeria. With the renaming of the airline, the new owners have dumped the Virgin Nigeria brand, owned by Richard Branson.

The airlines new name and logo was unveiled in Lagos, by the chairman of NICON group, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim. Mr. Ibrahim said the change in name became necessary to make the controversial carrier indigenous. Mr. Ibrahim also said the first branded aircraft for the airline in the new name will arrive in Nigeria next week from France.

He said the remaining aircraft in the new name would follow suit and the branding from the old name, Virgin, will be concluded in reckoning time. Mr. Ibrahim said the focus of the turnaround of the troubled airline would address financial distress before focusing on human resources engineering. The new livery on the aircraft with the name Air Nigeria, was displayed to pressmen in a slide by the airlines managing director, Mr. Kinfe Kahssaye.