National Carrier Project Still On Course, Says FG

Decries failure to airlift home-bound Nigerians

Despite hitches that truncated the plan by Federal Government to set up an airline for the country three years ago, Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, said the government was on course to pursue the dream of bequeathing a national carrier to Nigeria.

He said the project was on course, adding that the aspiration of Nigerians is to grow efficiency and status to be able to compete with any airline in the world.

 The minister disclosed this late Friday night at a webinar monitored by Woleshadarenews for aviation stakeholders on the planned resumption of international flights scheduled for August 29, 2020.

He stated that the aspiration of government was to see that Nigerian carriers grow in efficiency and ability to offer good services, stressing that when they came to power in 2015, they were confronted with airlines’ deficiencies, struggle for access to capital, corporate governance issues and lack of a good structure.

He further disclosed that the planned national airline would be one that many Nigerians would partake in, reiterating that “there is no going back on national carrier.”

 His words: ‘We don’t think one airline is enough for 200 million people. We want to have an airline that would be able to compete with any airline in the world. When we came, we saw deficiencies of many of the airlines as they struggle for access to capital, lack of corporate governance and good structure.”

One of the most vexatious ironies about Nigeria – perhaps even an embarrassment—is the lack of national airline. Nigerians are often very piqued to be traveling on airlines owned by smaller less resource-endowed African countries.

Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda and South Africa national carriers are some of the big players on the continent. Foreign airlines do well from the large and growing number of Nigerian passengers.

 For instance, Emirates flies twice a day from Lagos. Many Nigerians were, therefore, elated when the Nigerian government announced during the 2018 International Air Show in London that it intended to establish a new national airline to be named Nigeria Air.

The new national airline was expected to be jointly owned by the government and unnamed private investors at a cost of $300 million.

To ensure that it didn’t run into the same set of problems that spelled doom for Nigeria Airways in 2003, private investors were to hold a majority stake in the new venture.

 This was no doubt to shield the fledgling airline from undue interference by the government.

Meanwhile, the minister said on no basis should international airlines refuse to carry Nigerians, who have tested negative for COVID-19, stressing that the action would amount to discrimination by such carriers.

He further stated that there was no basis for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to deny Nigerians, who have valid visa, flight services to Nigeria.

He allayed fear of people who expressed concern over the refusal of UAE to issue visa to Nigerians, who want to visit the country.

“UAE are not giving visa to Nigerians for now, but they will soon start issuing visa. Air Peace should try as much as possible to bite into the market of people with visa.

We will support Air Peace but we cannot force UAE on visa issuance. It is a diplomatic issue. Our purpose is to assist your business so that you can continue to provide service to Nigerians,” he noted.

Wole Shadare