Nigeria Air suspension, opportunity for Nigerian carriers to up their game-Onyema

*Air Peace loses N1B on W/Coast in six months

Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema said the suspension of national carrier by the Federal Government was a huge challenge to domestic carriers or the country’s flag carriers to step up to the plate to offer Nigerians quality services.

This is coming as the carrier disclosed that his airline lost over N1 billion in six months on West Coast operations because of huddles put on the path of Nigerian carriers by governments of Benin Republic, Togo, Senegal and others that were orchestrated at frustrating Air Peace out of the West Coast routes.

The airline chief in an interactive session with the media today said the decision to halt the process was a timely and courageous one, adding that Nigerian airlines were at the verge of losing several billions of naira in investment had government gone ahead with the project.

Onyema called on government to channel its time and energy in supporting indigenous airlines and assist the airlines in international aero politics, adding that government’s aloofness has cost the airlines so much and led to their short lifespan.

President Muhammed Buhari has challenged all of us with the suspension of Nigeria Air. It is now left to all us to justify the suspension of national carrier by getting it right. One more thing, government should help us to fight aero politics.”

He particularly expressed regrets how the Togolese aviation authorities frustrated his airline when started eyeing Lome, stressing that the country slammed $10, 000 per landing charges and denied it office space at the airport.

“Nigerian airlines are suffering. The type of things they do us is terrible. Everybody is protecting their airlines but Nigeria is not doing the same. They give Ethiopian Airlines five destinations in the country to operate to. Who does that? It is very sad”

“They say Nigerian airlines are weak and not performing, how can they perform under this type of hostile environment? We thank President Buhari for helping to remove waiver on aircraft spare parts and Value Added Tax (VAT). But the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). We need government to help us do aero politics.”

Speaking on the order for ten brand new B737 MAX airplanes, Onyema noted that the decision was  informed by the need to cover the yawning gap left by other carriers, hinting that the airline would operate the state-of-the-art planes to Frankfurt, Paris, Jeddah, London Dubai while the B777 would be deployed to China, India, Johannesburg and other areas.

For aviation to develop in the country, he stated that the first thing is the improvement on airport infrastructure and aviation infrastructures generally.

“Improvement on them is very key. Don’t let anybody deceive you. This country will never be a hub to anybody or for anybody, except our airport infrastructures are improved upon”.

“There is no way you can optimally use your planes in Nigeria. The airport infrastructure does not support that. And that is why we are saying, the first thing we should do in this country is to improve on our airport infrastructures.

 “From check-in to flight navigational aids, making airport environment conducive, both for operators and passengers. The infrastructure is poor. There is no way airlines will optimally use their equipment. Air Peace has never, because many of the airports in Nigeria close shop at 6pm. So when they close shop at 6pm, where will you go to? Besides Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt; the rest close shop at 6pm. And these are parts of the causes of failure of airlines in Nigeria. It is a capital intensive business. Every penny counts”.

We must get our airport infrastructure right. It is not about saying Nigerian airlines are weak. I hate it, especially when it comes from government official-I do not find it funny. We should promote our own.  Bring the legacy airlines of this world to come and do domestic operations in Nigeria, they will pack up in 72 hours. We know what we go through”, he added.