Aviation minister, AON disagree on multiple entry grant to foreign airlines
By ADAKU WALTER
- Local airlines are being colonised, operators allege, issue 21-day ultimatum for policy reversal
Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have disagreed with the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika over Federal Government’s decision to grant foreign airlines multiple entry points into the country.
The local airline operators said giving foreign airlines the right to fly directly to several locations in the country could hurt the revenue of domestic airlines, which will suffer undue competition from their foreign counterparts.
Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace and Vice President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Allen Onyema, who represented the AON at the first Quarter (Q1) Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) Business Breakfast Meeting held in Lagos on March 31, 2022, described the idea as another slavery, which should be abolished.
Sirika, who spoke earlier at the meeting, said nothing was wrong, even though he admitted that the matter had become a bone of contention among players in the industry.
Recently, Qatar Airways was granted an extra two entry points, into the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) and Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), which members of the AON.
In his address delivered on his behalf by industry expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu, he said granting foreign airlines multiple entry points was against the Carbotage act, and that it would stop the airlines from generating the needed revenue that would help them grow and develop maximally.
He also added that the pressure of foreign exchange (Forex) the airlines require for their smooth operations, which would help in repatriating funds, constituted another disadvantage of the policy. He, nonetheless, argued that there were still prospects for domestic airlines in the country.
His words: “Nevertheless, there are prospects for domestic airlines, as they have opportunities for improved domestic markets by distributing international passengers for connection with these airlines.
“Granting entry points to foreign airlines should also be such that they give multiple entries to either Lagos or Abuja and not Lagos and Abuja, in addition to any other airport outside the geographical area of Lagos and Abuja, but Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu. That way, they do not annex all the business in all the International Airports.”
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Onyema also said the issue of multiple entry points was unacceptable even abroad, adding: “How do you encourage your national airline when foreign airlines are allowed to conduct domestic operations in the name of international operations in your country?
“No country allows that, not even the United States with its powerful economy. Even if you fly a private jet to the United States and maybe you are going to Atlanta and if New York is nearer and you land in New York, they will allow you.”
The Trumpet correspondent reports that he, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for easing the pains of domestic airlines by giving waivers on spare parts and Customs duties, especially regarding importation, but warned that the AON might take legal action if nothing was done urgently.
