Minister rules out bailout for airlines, sector, says good policies will drive growth

• NCAA to wade into unresolved ticket refunds, launches portal

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has ruled out direct disbursement of funds to help airlines cushion the many problems they face.

He stated that there is no amount of money the government gives the airlines that can make them survive, explaining that what the carriers and industry need is the right policies.

He reiterated that it is the kind of policy to attract foreign investors, attract patronage and make the environment safe and conducive for people to come in with their equipment, aircraft, engines and spare parts for the local operators to survive which he said is the focus of his Ministry.

The Minister’s disclosure may have put paid to silent clamour by operators and clandestine moves to pressure the government with another bailout.

The more than N300 billion doled out to the airlines in the past yielded no results. The airlines are in financial dire straits. Some of them have continued to lobby the government for another round of bailouts.

The Minister spoke who on Thursday in Lagos at the launch of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Consumer Protection Portal, which would ensure real-time lodging of complaints by air travellers and resolve so many complaints about flight delays, cancellations and general maltreatment of passengers by airlines said the aviation industry is very capital intensive as no amount of money from the government would make the industry survive.

His words, “What government can do is to open up the environment for private businesses to thrive. The government does not need to give money. What type of money do you want to give to the aviation industry? It is so capital-intensive. No amount of money the government gives the industry that can make them survive.”

“ It is the kind of policies to attract foreign investors, to attract patronage, to make the environment especially safe and conducive for people to come in with their equipment, their aircraft, engines, parts for the local operators to survive and that ofcourse has been our focus”.

Keyamo noted that many of his trips overseas are already yielding results, stressing that it would have been easy for them like some previous people did to throw their hands up to say the sector is not working.

“Some other people have more capacity than us; they go outside the country to invite those capacities to kill our local capacity. I am very clear to our direction in the aviation industry and Mr. President mandated that we should go that way. I want to thank Mr. President for giving us all the support. I am sure you have seen the clear difference in policies. One says no, we cannot do it and you go and attract people from outside to come and dominate our space. I said no.

His policy to go beyond the Cape Town Convention which Nigeria is a signatory to and domesticated in 2007 by providing legal backing to protect lessors from seizure of their aircraft has been lauded by experts in the aviation industry and outside the country.

Last week’s signing of the Cape Town Convention Practice Direction by the Federal Government shot up the country’s image from 49 per cent to 70.5 per cent by the global aviation sector.

In a swift response to Nigeria’s bold attempt to fully comply with the Cape Town Convention on dry-leasing of aircraft by preparing and signing the Practice Direction, the Aviation Working Group (Co-chaired by Boeing and Airbus) on Wednesday swiftly adjusted the global score/rating of Nigeria on our compliance status from 49 to 70.5.

“What we have done is to take the hard road and what is the hard road? We decided to go round the world to say look, what d you want us to do to be like Qatar, Addis Ababa, to be like Cairo? They gave us conditions because we have the country already, we have the economy, we have the population, we have the travelling public.

“So, what is the problem? Can’t we be like them? It is very simple. Why can’t we? They gave these conditions. We have started to address these conditions one by one. Other people ignored these conditions. I saw letters from ten years ago, five years ago, they wrote to Nigeria to say you are not fulfilling this and they ignored those letters. I went back to those letters and this is the first step. Other steps are coming”, he assured.

Speaking at the launch of the portal, Keyamo expressed regret that some passengers who had earlier booked to fly with some of the suspended airlines were finding it difficult to reclaim their funds, despite all the efforts such passengers had made in the past.

The Minister deplored the antics of some airlines when it comes to refunding passengers, saying that the government had directed the NCAA to by Friday inform the public of steps it had taken to resolve such complaints.

Many Nigerians find it extremely difficult to get back their monies from airlines The carriers drag the matter on for months leading to frustration and eventual abandonment of refunds by passengers.

Wole Shadare