Union Airways Union Airways Union Airways of South Africa was the first South African commercial airline. It operated as an independent company for five years, from 1929 to 1934, before being taken over by the government as South African Airways. Union Airways were founded by Major Allister Miller, a World War I flying ace, who had recruited some 2000 South Africans for service in the Royal Air Force. The word "Union" referred to the official name of the country at that time: the Union of South Africa. The company was financed by the Atlantic Refining Company, and supported by a small government
Nigeria Airways 5N-ABK, crashed near Hadejia on a freighter flight from Jeddah, killing three of a crew of five. Further staff reductions continued throughout the first half of the 1990s, and at September 1995 the airline had 4,500 employees. In 1997 the UK Civil Aviation Authority banned the airline from operating into its territory citing safety concerns; in return, the Nigerian government barred British Airways from operating in the country. The service was restored in 1998 when the carrier began codesharing with British Airways, deploying a leased Boeng 747-200 that wore a Nigeria Airways livery and was operated on the Lagos–London Heathrow