Asked why the practice in Nigeria is different from other countries of the world, Nwokoma said: “Those countries are strong, Nigeria is not. It is not comparable. Nigeria has a lot of work to do as it is yet to get to that level. Other countries are properly structured and comparatively, we are not close to some of those countries in the aviation world.”
The number of daily flights foreign airlines make across the country’s airports is negatively affecting the income of domestic airlines, Saturday Vanguard Aviation has gathered.
Airline Operators of Nigerian, AON, and other stakeholders are concerned about the matter, which they said was affecting the local market.
Vice Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Dr Allen Onyema, recently expressed dissatisfaction over the practice at the Silverbird Awards held in Lagos.
Onyema, who lamented what he termed mortgaging the aviation sector to the foreign world, also called for a change. According to him, “a situation where ministers give city hopping rights to foreign airlines is not done anywhere in the world.”
Like him, other stakeholders, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard Aviation, further condemned the practice.
Entry point
Speaking to Saturday Vanguard Aviation, the Spokesperson for Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, said each passenger picked due to multiple destinations was a passenger deprived a domestic carrier, stressing that it doesn’t help the industry.
Obiora, who explained that countries that understand aeropolitics and support their domestic carriers do everything to discourage that, said as liberal as America is, unless it is for fuelling, no carrier would be allowed to land in any American state to pick passengers.
“Whether commercial flight or private jet, neither will be allowed to hop and continue. If you go to America with your private jet, you have to stop at one destination. If you have to go further on a private trip, you need to charter it from locals. That is the way it works. By doing that, they are supporting their local operators who generate income, pay taxes and support the local economy,” he told Saturday Vanguard Aviation.
Debt
He added that funds paid to foreign carriers on domestic routes as a result of multiple destinations were part of the funds international carriers exchange to forex and send to their countries.
“When you hear that Nigeria is owing foreign carriers some repatriation money, they include tickets that were paid in Naira for domestic flights that would have been in the pockets of local operators, who receive money in Naira, also pay their taxes and use the money for their expenses.
“These people (foreign airlines) don’t pay taxes. The Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, BASA, doesn’t permit multiple destinations. You just have to stop in one place and then take off from there. You exit from your entry point or your last entry point, not from one place to the other,” Obiora explained.
Economically unviable
Also, a former commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu, rtd, explained: “When you have an airline like British Airways coming to Lagos and going to Abuja, it is not economically viable for us in commercial aviation. If it has to go to Abuja 100 times a day, it can do that, not Lagos. When you allow them go into multiple destinations, they are incurring into your domestic routes.
“For instance, look at Ethiopian Airlines, it goes to Abuja, Lagos and Enugu. It is not possible in other countries. In Britain, they won’t allow you to do that. Neither will they allow you to do that in the United States. What can be done for all these airlines (foreign), especially when we do not have national or flag carriers that would compete with them on the BASA route, is to tell them to come to Lagos, don’t come to Abuja; go to Abuja, don’t come to Lagos.
Corruption
“Instead of going to our domestic routes, stay on one route. Maximum two. That way, domestic airlines can make money from carrying transit passengers from that destination. When they are allowed to go round Nigeria, they kill the domestic market. The practice in Nigeria is different because of our corruption. Anything we do here is because of some people in government who are benefitting from it.
“People are collecting money from the foreign airlines to enable them to do what they are doing. Why will Ethiopian Airlines be going to about four or five airports in Nigeria? Who gave it that authority? It is not in the BASA. What they are doing is what I call institutional corruption. What is in the BASA for British Airways is Lagos, not Abuja. The British airlines come into this country 21 times a day. With the way things are being done, this industry will collapse in the next five to 10 years.”
Capacity
Meanwhile, President of Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria, AFARN, Mr Kingsley Nwokoma, in an exclusive chat with Saturday Vanguard Aviation, disagreed with the stakeholders, saying they requested for approvals to fly to those routes and were given.
He said: “Capacity is key. If you don’t have capacity, you cannot be functional. There is nothing to complain about, rather they should try and get into the International Air Transport Association, IATA, clearing house to enable them to align with the foreign airlines.
“Instead of looking for excuses, they should collaborate. The local airlines are not together, they can’t even collaborate locally. Foreign airlines requested for approvals and they were given. Did the foreign airlines decide on their own to go to these destinations? There are rules, procedures and regulations that must be adhered to.
Competition
“They should put their house in order before complaining. If anybody has problems, they can go to the appropriate bodies. Competition is good and the sky is big enough for everybody. Aside from Lagos and Abuja, which other places have traffic? The man in Enugu will be glad that Lufthansa comes to his airport and picks him instead of going to Lagos; the man in Port Harcourt will also be happy to fly from the state’s airport rather than go to Lagos. Rather than travelling to Lagos, the travelling passengers in Enugu, Port Harcourt, Ekiti, Ondo, Ibadan will be happy to pack their bags, get to their airports and go straight to their final destinations.”
Asked why the practice in Nigeria is different from other countries of the world, Nwokoma said: “Those countries are strong, Nigeria is not. It is not comparable. Nigeria has a lot of work to do as it is yet to get to that level. Other countries are properly structured and comparatively, we are not close to some of those countries in the aviation world.”