Experts: Lagos not yet strong aviation hub despite N800b investments

• Strong airline needed to strengthen MMIA axis

Despite about N800 billion spent to bring Nigeria’s airports, especially the Murtala Muhammed Airport, to international standards through remodelling seven years ago, stakeholders have registered their displeasure over inability of the aerodrome to attain a hub status.

Ranked as the fifth busiest airport in Africa, with an average of 10, 383, 452 pas­senger traffic achieved in 2017, not a experts believe that the Mur­tala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), strategically located in Lagos, has all it takes to create an air trans­portation hub for Nigeria.
Nigeria is said to be losing billions of dollars an­nually for not being able to tap into the po­tential in its aviation sector.
Although some of the experts who spoke to Woleshadarenews  admitted that Lagos is strategically positioned to be a hub of aviation in West Africa, they however, advised that its hub status should be made stronger.

Chairman, African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) and former Secretary-General of African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Nick Fadugba, said, sadly, over the years, the Federal Government has not been able to make the right investments to unlock the full potential of MMIA that could get it listed among the world’s best and biggest international airports.

He noted that it is the same story with the other international airports located in Enugu, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
There was a general consensus that the creation of a strong national carrier or flag carrier airline would make Lagos a strong hub of aviation in West Africa and indeed Africa, as they cited Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, South African Airways, Kenya Airways as some of the carriers in the continent have made Addis Ababa Cairo, Nairobi, Johannesburg and Nairobi some of the biggest aviation hubs in Africa.
Nige­ria’s aviation sector contributes only 0.4 per cent to national GDP, but it could contribute more, about 13 per cent, if the right thing is done according to stakeholders.

Fadugba stated that an airport hub remains pivotal in any effort to grow the aviation sector’s contribution to national GDP.
A 2015 data by Airport Council Inter­national showed 10 of the top airport hubs carrying over half a billion passen­gers. The first being the hart field Jack­son Atlanta International Airport, USA with 101.4 million passengers.
Benjing Capital International Airport, China comes second with 89.9 million passengers; Dubai International, UAE ranks third with 78.014 million passen­gers; while the Chicago O’Hare Interna­tional Airport is fourth with 76.9 million passengers.

Fadugba noted that what most of these airports have in common is that they are hubs, offering a high number of routes and moving people internationally rather than neces­sarily being the final destination.
Another common feature of these air­ports according to him, is that their growth or prosperity is tied to the existence of a vibrant national or flag carrier.

The Hartfield Jackson Airport in Atlanta is driven largely by Delta Airline; just as London Heathrow is pro­pelled by British Airways, and United Airlines has its headquarters in Houston, Texas, USA, which is served by O’Hare International Airport; KLM built a hub in Schipol; while Air France built Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France.

An aviation expert who pleaded anonymity, said although the Lagos airport is strategically positioned, the absence of a strong national carrier has marred efforts to get natural airport hubs in the country.
He said: “Nigeria is the best location in Africa to build a hub, yet we have not developed it. We cannot develop hubs in our country. Globally, private airlines have developed airports as hub in two countries.

“So, airlines have a role to play in developing air transport hubs. Nigeria can become a hub if it has two or three airlines that are very strong, even if one is not strong enough, but one that can feed the whole of Africa. People coming from America transiting through Lagos then can go to Accra, they go to Niger Republic, they go to South Africa; they go to Cairo; they go everywhere in the continent.”
Aside remodelling and rehabilitation of the airports, which took place a few years ago, he said the Federal Government needs to work harder to float a national or flag carrier, describing it is as good thing for the country. 

An airline chief, who craved anonymity, corroborated Alig­be’s views. He said airlines have a huge role to play in developing air transport hubs.
He cited the roles Ethiopian Airlines has played in making Addis Ababa a strong hub in the Horn of Africa region distributing passengers from all parts of the continent into its global routes net­work using its many global alliances.

Egypt Air, he said, has developed a hub around Cairo just as South African Air­ways has also developed a hub for Johan­nesburg to distribute passengers around the southern part of the continent.
He said: “But a country needs more than the advantage of geographical loca­tion before it can become a hub. Now, if you take advantages into account, Nige­ria ought to be a hub but then, what re­ally determines a hub is the quality and the capacity of a major carrier in that par­ticular country.”

Wole Shadare