How to solve aviation woes, by experts

• Want Nigeria to adopt Singapore, Dubai models

The only way to rescue Nigeria’s aviation industry is to adopt the Dubai and Singapore aviation models by harnessing aviation as a tool for economic development, experts have said.

For instance, Managing Director of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema and former Commandant, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu (Rtd), told Woleshadare.net  at separate fora that the two nations have built their aviation to a level that they have become the envy of many other nations.

Onyema said: “In Singapore and Dubai, their governments have harnessed aviation as a tool for economic development. Deliberately, decisively, they have taken aviation that, ‘this is what is going to develop our economy’,” he said.

“We are talking about Dubai, it is as big as Lagos? Singapore, I am sure you can fit it into Lagos State. If there is no aviation, will we be talking about Dubai? We would not be talking of Singapore if not for the amazing aviation industry. It is a hub in Asia, a major hub.

“Dubai, of course, is a major hub in the Middle East and yet they built it with nothing that we have in terms of the population. What is the population of Singapore? In Nigeria, we have 180 million people of entrepreneurs and I am talking from the board chairman to the market woman or man. They are all business people, they fly. I have been at Murtala Muhammed Airport and profile passengers, young men and women travelling, going to China. It is amazing. It is marvellous. I do not see it in South Africa.”

Besides, he noted that there is absolutely no reason why Nigeria should not have two or three thriving airlines, adding that the country has the aviation product in terms of passengers and cargo demand.

“I do not believe sincerely that Nigeria need more than maximum three large airlines. We can have niche airlines,” he said.

On his path, Ojikutu disclosed that the market share of foreign airlines on routes to and from Nigeria was over 90 per cent, stressing that the international airlines operate over 300 frequencies weekly into and out of Nigeria, a situation, which is detrimental to the local carriers.

While Ethiopian Airways has the highest entry points of five into Nigeria, the East African carrier combined with that of ASKY together operate 54 frequencies weekly into Nigeria.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, he said, operate 21 frequencies weekly into Nigeria.

Recommending strong hub airports as strategy for successful airline business, Ojikutu said: “Strong hub airports are the key to airline connectivity as they stimulate economic growth in turn. There are strong hub airports in East Africa, South Africa and North Africa. These hub airports account for most of the scheduled capacity in Africa.

“In contrast, West and Central Africa have not been so successful in establishing strong hub airports. Strong hub airports enable efficient passenger and cargo transfers. Effective hub and spoke operations multiply the number of city pairs that can be connected.”

Ojikutu pointed out that Nigeria has a buoyant international and domestic air transport market but that most beneficiaries, to date, were foreign airlines.

Listing the reasons for the situation, he said the Nigerian airline industry was characterised by numerous small, weak and under-capitalised carriers who often default on their financial obligations.

Others, according to him, were lack of airline business knowledge, lack of co-operation, joint ventures, interlining and code-sharing and limited aviation manpower development.

To succeed, Ojikutu advised African airlines to partner in the areas of joint training, MRO, spares pooling, joint operations, interlining and code-sharing.

Wole Shadare