Developing Nigeria’s aviation local content policy with ‘Fly Nigeria Act’

Despite the pressure of globalization, the Nigerian Government is ensuring that businesses in Nigeria remain competitive. One key area that government is showing key interest in is the ‘Fly Nigeria Act’. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo is pushing for it, stakeholders are interested in it. Time is ticking, writes, WOLE SHADARE

 Local content push

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo has shown serious commitment to involving huge local content in the aviation industry.

First was directive that foreign airlines operating to Nigeria source their catering from many of the international catering companies we have in the country by including local meals onboard considering the fact that 90 per cent of passengers arriving and departing from the country are Nigerians.

At his first stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos November 2023, the Minister expressed shock that that some foreign airlines bring two-way meals into Nigeria.

Local meal directive

While some of the foreign carriers may be doing that to conserve costs, carrying of meals and water for a return journey may constitute additional weight to the aircraft thereby consuming more fuel aside from the fact that the meals may no longer be fresh even when heated up.

While some consider the action a violation of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA), many others that are conversant with the BASA agreements Nigeria has with other countries said there is no BASA on that aspect which opened the eyes of stakeholders to insert the clause that foreign airlines wishing to operate to Nigeria must patronize the country’s catering firms that have been certified to be world-class.

The Minister considered local menu onboard international airlines as a pre-condition for granting them additional flight rights to the country and other benefits they had enjoyed for so long.

United States airlines, Delta and United have included mouth-watering meals that have become very popular amongst the carriers’ passengers.

Delta showcases the finest of Nigerian cuisine with a thoughtfully curated selection designed to suit a variety of tastes. Those seeking a Naija traditional delight may choose the roasted cod, served with fragrant basmati rice, agoyin-style beans, and sweet plantains, offering a harmonious blend of flavours and textures.

Many of the carriers have started  introducing local meals on-bard their flights ensuring that they embrace local content to not only make Nigerian meals popular amongst international cuisines but to retain the market here.

Fly Nigeria Act

One other area the Minister has shown interest is in the area of Fly Nigeria Act which is ensuring that Nigerian carriers partake in the international business market.

He emphasised that the Act would create a fair playing ground for Nigerian airlines and curb what he described as a global conspiracy against the growth of the African aviation industry.   

According to Keyamo, the Fly Nigeria Act will mandate that all air transportation funded by the government, including trips by government officials, contractors, grantees, and government properties, be carried out using Nigerian flag carriers.

He likened the initiative to the Cabotage Act, which supports indigenous operators in the marine sector and highlighted the urgent need to protect Nigeria’s aviation market from external dominance.

 The Fly Nigeria Bill is designed to create an enabling legal and policy environment for indigenous airlines in Nigeria. It seeks to protect and give market share to Nigerian airlines. It prevents public funds from being ferried away by foreign airlines but plowed back into Nigerian airlines to generate employment, revenue, access to capital, foreign investment, career projection for core professionals, and most importantly ignite a dash for codeshare and alliance with Nigerian carriers.

Limited options

Not a few believe that the Fly Nigeria Act would have made a lot of sense if Nigeria had a national carrier. At the moment, only Air Peace operates to just London as its sole international route for now and does not have interline or codeshare pacts with other airlines beyond London.

The bill, if passed, is capable of boosting domestic air transport which should ordinarily bring positivity to the sector, however there are so many factors that may stand on the way of making the fly act policy a reality.

As good as the proposed fly act is meant to be, there is however the need for the government, through the minister to realize the fact that much is required to make the act work.

Limitation

While the Fly Nigeria Act looks beautiful on paper, few stakeholders have urged the country’s airlines to up their games in terms of service delivery and customer service. Forcing down Fly Nigeria Act on government officials when local airlines dish out horrendous services to passengers would make the Act not to succeed or supported by the lawmakers and top government officials who have no patience for poor service delivery.

Past failure

The Fly Nigeria Bill is not new to the sector as the policy was also in place during the former Nigeria Airways days which did not last before it was jettisoned.

The Fly Nigeria bill promoted by Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) is the first real effort at developing a Nigerian Aviation local content policy.

Agbakoba shortly after the liquidation of Nigeria Airways championed the Fly Nigeria Act but to no avail, fueling concerns that the Bill may hit a similar fate in the National Assembly.

The Fly Nigeria Bill is designed to create an enabling legal and policy environment for indigenous airlines in Nigeria. It seeks to protect and give market share to Nigerian airlines.

It prevents public funds from being ferried away by foreign airlines but plowed back into Nigerian airlines to generate employment, revenue, access to capital, foreign investment, career projection for core professionals, and most importantly ignite a dash for codeshare and alliance with Nigerian carriers. 

Risk of failure

To make it work, the Minister needs to get the buy in of the lawmakers who majorly would be the ones to push for its passage when the carriers and the Minister may have exhausted all the questions that they may pose to him to see to the success of the Bill.

It appears that the Minister is putting the cart before the horse. Many have asked how the carriers intend to deal with so many issues that confront them.

Over the past several years, considerable attention has not been devoted to service levels in the Nigerian airline industry – with the predominant view that quality is poor and rapidly deteriorating.

An airline owner who spoke to Aviation Metric on condition of anonymity said, “It will be interesting to see how this improves the airlines’ profitability if they continue to do what they are doing on the local scene on the international market. The Fly Nigeria Act is a good one only if the airlines convince the parliament enough that they are ready to match the foreign carriers service-wise”.

Last line

The Aviation industry in Nigeria needs an urgent boost to contribute to the country’s economic transformation. A Nigerian Aviation local content policy articulated in the Fly Nigeria Bill can provide the boost. If the Fly Nigeria Bill is adopted and passed, it will reserve commercial transportation of goods and services to airlines flying Nigerian flags and owned by Nigerians and ensure government spending on air travel (estimated to be over N500Billion annually) originates and terminates with airlines flying Nigerian flags.

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