The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), Adedayo Olawuyi, has said that foreign airlines continue to dominate Nigeria’s international aviation market owing to the inability of indigenous carriers to build sufficient capacity for regional and long-haul operations.

In an interview with The Guardian in Lagos, Olawuyi said the country’s dependence on foreign airlines would continue until Nigerian carriers become strong enough to compete on international routes and expand beyond domestic operations.

According to him, many foreign airlines operating in Nigeria do not fly passengers to their home countries alone, but use their hubs to connect Nigerian travellers to destinations across the world.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyam0, regretted recently that foreign carriers continued to transport the majority of Nigerians on international routes.

According to him, no fewer than 90 to 95 per cent of Nigerian passengers fly out of the country using foreign airlines.

The expert, however, said the government had put in measures to support the growth of indigenous carriers to compete effectively.

Using Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airlines as examples, he said most Nigerian passengers flying on the airlines connect through Dubai, Doha and Addis Ababa to other global destinations.

“Take Emirates, for example, a lot of people are not actually going to Dubai. They are connecting to other destinations. With Qatar, how many people actually go to Doha? Ethiopian Airlines operates between 35 and 40 flights every week into Nigeria. We have seen a dominance of foreign carriers because we do not have strong domestic and regional operators. The only way to stop that dominance is to start taking the battle to their markets.”

He said Nigerian airlines must begin operating more direct regional and international services rather than forcing passengers to endure multiple connections through foreign hubs.

According to him, a passenger travelling from Lagos to Dakar currently has to connect through Lome, Abidjan or Banjul on foreign airlines, whereas Nigerian carriers should be providing direct services across West Africa.

He explained, however, that operating such routes requires deploying aircraft that match passenger demand, warning that using large aircraft on thin regional routes would make operations commercially unsustainable.

Olawuyi said UNA had already commenced plans to expand aggressively across Africa and beyond over the next two years.

He said the airline, which currently operates to 15 domestic destinations and Accra, Ghana, intends to launch services to Monrovia, Banjul, Dakar, Abidjan and Conakry in the coming months.

United Nigeria Airlines is also planning operations to Douala and Libreville in Central Africa as well as Johannesburg, South Africa.

Apart from Africa, Olawuyi said the airline was processing approvals for flights to the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Turkey, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, subject to aircraft deliveries and regulatory clearances.

He also revealed that United Nigeria Airlines was pursuing interline and codeshare partnerships with both local and international airlines to accelerate its international expansion strategy.

He added that UNA currently carries between 120,000 and 130,000 passengers monthly, making it the country’s second-largest airline by passenger traffic and seat capacity.

He further stated that while regional expansion remained a priority, consolidating the domestic network was more important.

Olawuyi also raised concerns over increasing bird strike incidents, lamenting that it is one of the biggest operational challenges confronting Nigerian airlines.

He recalled that within one week in May, the airline suffered bird strikes on four consecutive days, resulting in flight cancellations, delays, passenger compensation, aircraft repairs, and revenue losses.

He added: “The biggest impact is the loss of passenger confidence. Once passengers are transferred to another airline because your aircraft is unavailable, they may never come back.”

He, however, lauded FAAN for ongoing efforts to improve bird hazard management around airports, but canvassed greater investment in preventive infrastructure.