How Buhari’s govt can fix aviation sector, by operator

Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema has called on the President-elect Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to take urgent steps on assumption of duty to address those policies that make the operating environment difficult for domestic carriers.

In particular, Onyema said the best policy the in-coming government could put in place is to influence a single digit interest rate in loans to be accessed by domestic airlines from Nigerian commercial banks.

He said such low interest credit window is better than mere intervention packages to domestic carriers that may not entirely address the gamut of their operational challenges.

He also listed a policy that would make it easy for domestic carriers to access land from the airport authority to set up aircraft maintenance hangar, which he said would not only create jobs but will drastically reduce the cost of offshore aircraft maintenance.

Onyema said the major challenge affecting the aviation sector is absence of good policies that would make it conducive for domestic carriers to run profitable operations.

He said mere appointment of aviation professional would not address myriad of challenges in the aviation sector.

Onyema said the in-coming President should appoint somebody with a business background who will appreciate how the harsh operating environment is impacting negatively on airline operations.

He called on the in-coming government to as a matter of urgency look at the multiple charges levied airlines by aviation agencies, which he said is erecting a road block on the growth and development of the aviation sector .

Onyema said domestic airlines are over charged as the five per cent ticket sales charge collected by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), is too much as the airlines do not make up to five per cent profit on their operations.

The operator canvassed the harmonisation of charges by NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

He stated that most aviation agencies are frustrating efforts by domestic carriers to access  land through lease option at airports nationwide , saying that the agencies not only delay in considering approval they also charge arbitrary fees.

He cited the N150 million charge awarded him by FAAN for a parcel of land approved for the setting up of an aircraft maintenance hangar at the Lagos Airport.

Onyema complained the amount is not only too high but a huge disincentive to efforts by a domestic carrier to improve capacity in aircraft maintenance and creation of jobs for teeming aviation professionals.

He said that the problems of the aviation sector was beyond the mere proposal of airline merger , but serious intervention policies that  would address issues bordering on the huge costs of airline operations, access to foreign exchange, multiple taxation and other issues.

His words: “There has been a lot of talk about the aviation sector in Nigeria, which is mostly influenced by lack of knowledge about the sector by so-called experts.

“The bulk of the talk heaps blame on airline operators as being the problem of the industry which is not true.

“What is key in the industry is that operators are playing their role and doing their best.

But with the existing structures in the industry the growth of domestic airlines cannot be sustained. No domestic airline will do well if the current policies that stunts growth are sustained.

“The way out is for government to design appropriate policies that would create a conducive operating environment.”