Aviation: Nigerian airlines on edge over COVID-19

 

  • Airlines’ losses mount

Nigerian airlines are on the edge over how to curb the spread of Coronavirus as more airlines across the globe are cutting flights and applying measures to curtail the deadly virus that is expected to affect global airlines’ bottom line to the tune of $113 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its latest forecast on global airline outlook.

These losses could climb to over $200 million if the crisis continues into next month. Aside Arik Air, it is not clear the measures other airlines are taking to ensure they are at alert to ensure the prevention of another case.

Worried by the care-free attitude of local carriers, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was not impressed with measure taken just as it warned the carriers to do more to prevent the spread of the virus.

The agency also issued fresh warning to both international and regional airlines flights into Nigeria to issue health declaration forms to their passengers including crew members before arriving Nigerian airports.

 

The NCAA took the fresh measure following the difficulty in tracing all passengers who came in contact with an Italian diagnosed with first index case of virus who arrived aboard Turkish Airlines penultimate week.

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Spokesman for NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, in a statement recently said in view of the above, airlines are to remind passengers to provide factual address and phone numbers to enhance contact tracing in case there is need to do so.

The health declaration forms (passenger self-reporting forms) will be collected and evaluated by the personnel of Port Health Services on the arrival of the passengers and crew members alike.

Airlines are to collect the health declaration forms (passenger self-reporting forms) from the Port Health Services at the various international airports of the country.

The warning is coming on the heels of failure of some airlines operating international and regional flights into Nigeria to provide health declaration forms.

Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof.  Akin Abayomi, at the weekend hinted that 65 passengers, who came on Turkish Airlines but have travelled out of Lagos were being tracked by World Health Organisation (WHO) and state epidemiologists because they are no longer the country’s jurisdiction.

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He explained that out of the 84 based in Lagos, 49 were reachable, 35 unreachable, stressing that they were trying their best through other means to contact them.

He further stated that the 35 passengers were unreachable because of the abnormal data they might have provided for them in their forms arising from wrong information via telephone numbers, residential addresses and next of kin.

The International Air Transport Association says the virus outbreak that began in China could cost airlines as much as $113 billion in lost revenue due to the collapse of air travel.

Representatives of the airline industry group said at the weekend after a working meeting in Singapore that the industry urgently needs help from governments in waiving some requirements, taxes and fees to alleviate the burden on struggling carriers.

“The industry remains very fragile,” Brian Pearce, the IATA’s chief economist, told reporters. “There are lots of airlines that have got relatively narrow profit margins and lots of debt and this could send some into a very difficult situation.”

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The British regional airline Flybe stopped flying as of Thursday, done in by longstanding financial troubles and the impact of the worldwide blow to travel from the outbreak.

The IATA’s estimate reflects a scenario involving a 19 per cent loss in worldwide passenger revenues with extensive spread of the virus in markets that now have 10 or more confirmed cases. The countries account for 80 per cent of airline revenues, Pearce said. The biggest losses would be in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, which has by far the most cases of the virus.

An earlier estimate just two weeks ago put the potential cost of the downturn in travel at less than $30 billion. That was before the number of cases outside China skyrocketed, taking the total to nearly 100,000. So far, more than 3,200 people have died of COVID-19  the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

 

Wole Shadare