The Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines and spokesman of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo on Wednesday solicited the support of the new Minister of Aviation, Barr. Festus Keyamo, in the area of sourcing foreign exchange (FX) needs of the operators to sustain their businesses and the sector’ contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Okonkwo, during an interview on AriseTV .said that based on the increasing cost of operations being experienced by domestic airlines, an air ticket from Lagos to Abuja should cost N250,000 and that other routes should reflect similar fares.
Okonkwo, on Wednesday during an interview on AriseTV, lamented that local airline operators were contending with sundry operational challenges, including foreign exchange (FX) scarcity and other costs, and that the current air fares being charged by operators across the routes were at huge sacrifices by the airline owners.
According to him, in order to reduce the burdens on the local carriers’ operators, there is an urgent need for the monetary authorities to create a special FX window for local airlines to access foreign exchange.
The AON spokesman charged the newly appointed minister to partner other governmental agencies to identify and address obstructive constraints undermining the growth of the sector in order to support the airlines’ growth and contributions to the nation’s GDP.
Okonkwo explained further that the solution to this challenge is for the new minister to understand that the indigenous carriers need a special window with the CBN to access foreign exchange.
On the issue of air ticket costs, the industry leader noted that if the expenditures of airlines’ operators were fully captured in air fares, the Lagos-Abuja would cost air travellers about N250,000 per trip.
He said: “If you think tickets are expensive, then you probably don’t appreciate the sacrifices made by local operators. If we have to charge the fares, the way the costs are increasing every day, we should be paying not less than N250,000 from Lagos to Abuja.”
On the issue of increasing cost of Jet A1 fuel which the airlines use, the industry leader expressed serious concern over the unjustifiably high cost of aviation fuel, attributing the excess charges to speculative practices.
He, therefore, appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to play its part in stabilizing the industry by curbing these practices.
The AON leader said: “There is no reason, no matter the international price of crude oil that the aviation fuel should be delivered to the pump for more than N500. Everything you see on top of it is speculations and I am calling out on NNPC staff to set this country free.”
“The government and new aviation minister have to recognize the aviation industry as one of the essential industries in the country. It is no more for the rich only but a means of transportation”, he added.
