Aligbe: Nigeria’s aviation market vanishing

The setting up of new airlines by Nigeria’s neighbours and some other carriers in East Africa and other places could further erode the country’s aviation market as the Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konsult, Mr. Chris Azu Aligbe maintained that the lack of strong carriers from Nigeria could see the carriers take huge advantage of Nigeria’s aviation market.

Speaking with Aviation Metric at the weekend, Aligbe disclosed that Ethiopian Airlines plans to invest massively in South Sudan Airways, Niger’s plan to float two carriers; one for domestic and the other international could see them eat deep into the country’s aviation market from the East, West, and Nigeria’s borders.

He said, “Ethiopian Airlines is investing in South Sudan  Airways.  They’re bringing up a new airline, South Sudan Airways. Niger, the military guys in Niger want to set up two airlines, one for domestic, one for international.  If these two airlines come up, they are cleaning our northern market.”

Our friends, our brothers in the north, they go  to Cairo- that’s where they go for studies;  not just  Dubai or whatever, they go to Cairo for  medicals and everything. There are close to two million Nigerians in Sudan.  That’s the market.  Then our brothers in Niger, many of them are from Niger.  They have ancestral home in Niger. “

“If Niger sets up two airlines, one for domestic, one for international, they are targeting our market first and foremost. Sudan, South Sudan, is targeting another market. Ethiopian Airlines is establishing an airline, 49% equity in Congo Air. TAAG Angola is increasing its flights to Nigeria and domestically, TAAG Angola has co-share arrangement with 12 airlines. They’re emptying our passengers into the legacy airlines “.

Aligbe further stated that if after four years the country doesn’t do anything about having a very strong airline, the nation’s aviation market will be vanished., stressing that any Nigerian airline coming up after that period will battle to get into the market.

He regretted that the country is n where in the global aviation industry, stressing that if the country goes nowhere if does not have an airline of note.

“Somebody says, okay, license one international, license one regional. You don’t license international and regional airlines. You designate. Once you designate, let them operate. Our airlines have been designated. We have designation to the United States. We have two designations. We have designation even to Brazil. We have two designations. We have designation to UK”.

“We have designation to Dubai.  Are we operating? We have designation to South Africa.  We don’t need designation to South Africa.  For the simple fact that we are signatory to the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), we do not need designation. How many of us are operating? We have headlines in our news. Have we even been able to meet our domestic requirements?  We dominated the West African market before now.  Where are we today?

He supported the call by the country’s carriers on giving all carriers level-playing field in terms of Forex allocation but noted that the shouting of level playing field had been on for so many years, lamenting that over 52 airlines had collapsed since the airline industry was liberalized.

He recalled the case of defunct Okada Air when the carrier with the help of the leadership at the time got Forex at N5 per dollar while the national carrier and all other airlines were getting it at N18 per dollar alleging that the carrier was engaging in currency round tripping at the time rather than inject the money into the business.

He alleged that the carrier eventually collapsed when Gen Sani Abacha took over power and stopped the preferential treatment granted Okada under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida regime.

Aligbe commended the government for it efforts in making life meaningful for the airlines. He cited the removal of VAT, customs duties and others as measures targeted at ameliorating their pains.

He equally commended the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo  with the job he did with the Cape Town Convention Practice Direction, describing it as remarkable.

Wole Shadare