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How domestic airlines fleece FG, by air transport union

**13 fail to remit N14.7bn to agency
Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) has accused domestic airlines of colluding to cheat the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on the remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge(TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC) stating that airlines fraudulently calculate the charge with base fare alone exempting Fuel surcharge (YQ).
President of ATSSSAN, Ahmadu Illitrus made this known while speaking to Woleshadare.net in Lagos, saying that that the union would not allow the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) ‘mislead Nigerians and the world about the true state of the indebtedness of domestic airlines to aviation agencies’.
The NCAA and airlines have been on collision course over the five per cent TSC. The operators alleged described the charge which they had already collected on the NCAA behalf but fail to remit as illegal and amounting to double charge.
Angered by the posture of the operators, the NCAA, at the weekend published the names of the airlines that are indebted to the aviation regulatory body.
Thirteen airlines owe the NCAA a total of N14,731,838,064.59 non International Air Transport Association (IATA) five per cent Tickets Sales Charge (TSC) which domestic carriers reportedly collected for the agency but refused to remit.

Out of this amount, a paltry N301, 835,785.88 had been offset by the debtor carriers; a situation that has put the airlines and NCAA at loggerheads as later threatened to sanction erring operators.
The airlines that are indebted to the aviation regulatory body are Aero Contractors (N389,839,503.42); Arik Air paid N61,477,779.67, but has outstanding debts of N9,460,745,429.96; Chanchangi N442,148,618.52; Dana Air N1,241,951,184.28 but only settled N57,500,000.00; FirstNation N421,444,960.13 but offset N8,370,066.00; IRS N1,054,403,662.52; Medview N1,037,629,402.23 but settled only N30,000,000.00.
Others debtors are Overland Airways which owes N19,436,520.83 but paid N12,311,189.43, Azman N321,729,901.04 but only paid N20,000,000.00; Discovery N28,339,864.19; Air Peace N309,484,328.92 but paid N109,862,633.84; African World N1,204,503.55 and Cronos Air N3,480,185.00.
Ilitrus explained that contrary to misinformation that the NCAA was discriminating against domestic airlines, it is a known fact that international airlines ticket coupons generated from IATA showed that TSC is based on total cost of ticket including fuel surcharge(YQ)which domestic airlines exclude while calculating the five per cent.
Illitrus said “The International ticket coupons generated by IATA for tickets sold in Naira and in USD in Nigeria showed that the 5% TSC for both sales were based on the total cost of the ticket, that is inclusive of fuel surcharge (YQ) and base fare”.
Illitrus also stated that all Nigerian domestic operators charge the per cent TSC only on base fare excluding YQ, a situation ATSSAN says is fraudulent considering that “over 80 per cent of the ticket cost is hidden under YQ and other sundry cost.
For instance, on a one leg journey LOS – ABV (Lagos –Abuja) that cost N23, 000.00, the QY is usually about N19, 000.00 while the base fare is N3, 000.00. The five per cent TSC is then calculated only.
Wondering the propriety of the allegation that the Federal Government and NCAA are siphoning indigenous airlines through tax, Illitrus stated that airlines are to be blamed since they have refused to pay up over the years amassing a massive debt profile for themselves.
His words, “What we have witnessed over the years is that the domestic airlines i.e AON members and non-members alike collect the 5% TSC from passengers and refuse to remit to NCAA and or remit only a negligible percentage of the money and illegally utilize the larger unremitted percentage, thereby creating a huge deficit of unremitted portion of the money which now forms what is termed debt”.
On the call for the cancellation of the 5% TSC on the basis that it is outdated, the ATSSSAN President who seriously criticized the move by airline operators stressed that such advocacy negates the philosophy of ICAO on the financial Autonomy of civil aviation regulatory authorities and therefore is not achievable.
The union leader therefore, posited that “Financial autonomy is a key requirement for autonomy of the CAA. It has been established that political interference in the operation of a CAA is most visible in jurisdictions where the CAAs depends on subventions from the Government. On the other hand, the CAAs have feared better where they are financially independent”.
He further stated that if AON has another source of funding for NCAA considering the current lean finances of the Federal Government and the enormous safety and security responsibilities conferred on it, ATSSSAN will not object to that.
“If we may ask, in what way has the regime of the 5% TSC affected in the negative the operation or survival of Nigerian indigenous airlines who actually collect the Charge from passengers and pocket it? Today the domestic airlines have illegally coveted over 16 billion 5% TSC”, Illitrus said.
According to the ATSSSAN President, domestic operators which are used to having their way under previous governments in Nigeria have several designations on bilateral routes on reciprocal basis un-utilized, yet they complain about the foreign carriers who are just utilizing theirs under same agreements.
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