Chinedu Eze
Home airways have mentioned that the main elements that contribute to elevated worth of flight tickets embody the costs they pay for using the airports within the nation, the excessive price of aviation gas and different fees paid to aviation companies.
The Chief Working Officer of United Nigeria Airways, Mr. Osita Okonkwo made this identified on the Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport, Lagos yesterday, throughout a information convention to mark the three years of the airline as schedule, industrial operator.
Okonkwo, who mentioned that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Growth, Festus Keyamo, would quickly clear up the issue of paucity of plane amongst Nigerian carriers, said that along with passenger service cost, which they pay to the airports, they nonetheless pay touchdown fees and likewise pay further fees in the event that they function to sundown airports after 7:00 pm.
These, he mentioned, embody the airports that formally shut down by 7:00 pm however can prolong their companies with further cost by airways.
The funds, it was learnt, are as follows: Asaba Airport collects, N8000 per passenger, MMA2, Lagos, N7000, Chinua Achebe Airport, Umueri, Anambra state, N8000, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) collects N2, 000 per passenger for home fights, $100 for worldwide flights and $20 for safety cost.
As well as, the sundown airports cost N500, 000 for each prolonged one hour, which begins counting by 5 minutes previous 7:00 O’clock.
The airports additionally cost N25, 000 for each touchdown of plane and all these monies are constructed into different fees which embody 5 per cent ticket cost, which the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) collects on behalf of aviation companies.
Okonkwo mentioned that when these fees are put collectively they enhance the price of flight ticket and burdened that in cognisance of the trade price, the excessive price of aviation gas, which has risen to N1,300 per litre, the common price of ticket must be between N150, 000 to N200, 000.
However he said that realizing the financial state of affairs in Nigeria, solely few would afford to journey by air with industrial airways, insisting that the airways file losses at decrease price of tickets however need to hold offering the essential service of lifting Nigerians from one metropolis to a different.
Okonkwo advised that earlier than NCAA would approve working licence for any airport in Nigeria, it should meet the situation to function until midnight in order that airways don’t have to pay further earlier than utilizing their companies after 7:00 pm.
In the meantime, the chief working officer mentioned that one of many main challenges home airways face is acquisition of plane by buy or by lease.
He famous that prime nation threat, the dangerous status of some airways that didn’t abide by lease settlement up to now made plane leasing very pricey in Nigeria.
He mentioned that lessors don’t permit dry lease in Nigeria, which permits an airline to lease an plane for a very long time, register it regionally and function it with its full crew. In response to him, somewhat, the lessors permit moist lease, which is brief time leasing the place the lessor supplies the crew and which comes at a really excessive price.
Nevertheless, he mentioned that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Growth, Festus Keyamo has superior in his negotiation with lessors and plane producers to overview the nation threat clamped on Nigeria and likewise to withdraw the choice to not permit dry or long run lease to Nigerian carriers.
In response to Okonkwo, the minister has met with the worldwide foyer group to immediate the lessors to take away Nigeria from their blacklist and this embody Plane Leasing Group (ALG) comprising the 2 largest plane makers, Airbus and Boeing.
“Our attraction is that we don’t miss out on alternatives. Nigeria is the biggest market in Africa. The potential is there. The market is giant. The minister is on high of this situation. It could assist that Nigeria is faraway from nation threat on plane dry lease. The nation threat ranking has hampered our operations and we’re uncovered to wet-lease which could be very costly,” he added.
He additionally spoke on plane insurance coverage and mentioned that Nigerian insurance coverage corporations don’t have the capability to wholly insure an plane.
Nevertheless, he said that the Nationwide Insurance coverage Fee (NICON) insists that plane insurance coverage should undergo native insurers, however lessors give it as situation that their plane have to be insured in New York, London, Singapore, Dubai and different worldwide cities.
In response to him, even when an airline purchases an plane, it’s a global requirement that it must be insured, however no insurance coverage firm can try this in Nigeria, particularly for greater plane.
“The opposite one on insurance coverage is that there isn’t a capability internally to do large plane insurance coverage in Nigeria. So, many lessors are usually not working in Nigeria due to insurance coverage.
“It’s killing enterprise as a result of regardless that you need to do indigenisation, you can not try this with one other particular person’s belongings. Even when you purchase an plane at present, it’s a requirement that it’s important to insure it even when you pay together with your cash in Boeing, Embraer or no matter.
“The insurance coverage should cowl Boeing regardless that they’ve bought it to you, they have to be social gathering insured in that transaction. So you may’t escape the worldwide necessities of the enterprise and limiting it regionally won’t assist lessors,” Okonkwo mentioned.
