“Nigeria’s aviation faces bigger challenge post COVID-19”
- Aero MD, Sanusi debunks N10b sold tickets in three months
The Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Capt. Ado Sanusi said the Nigerian aviation industry faces bigger challenge post COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanusi who spoke to Woleshadarenews said it remains to be seen what the airlines would do to restore passengers’ confidence which he admitted will be at the lowest ebb by the time the world is done with the pandemic.
He also debunk insinuations that tickets sold within three months before the shutting down operations occasioned by the pandemic amounted to N10b, stressing that nothing suggests that Nigerian airlines sold that amount of tickets in three months.
The airline chief noted that the situation presents a good opportunity to reset the country’s aviation sector by borrowing a leaf from what Europe, United States and others are doing in readiness for life after COVID-19.
His words, “I believe that post COVID-19 will pose bigger challenge than the COVID-19 itself. As you said, passengers’ confidence will definitely go down and how we are going to make passenger confidence come back?. It is going to be very difficult to get the passengers to start flying”.
“Yes, it is going to be difficult but I believe we have an opportunity to reset the aviation industry globally and even our country. Now it is the time for us to pay more attention and reset it and get it right because all the other countries in the world are setting up their aviation. Some are thinking of nationalizing some carriers. Some are saying we are going to give you money to continue. We are not left behind”.
“We are almost at par. We must decide what we are going to with aviation to rebuild aviation industry in the country and then invest wisely and make it a sustainable venture at the end of the day. Many airlines will go under because the revenue they will get from ticket sales will not be able to sustain them”, he added.
Amid controversy trailing passengers seeking refund for ticket issued but not used, Sanusi assured that carriers in Nigerian wouldn’t have issues with travelers seeking reimbursement.
“If you bought a ticket or an agent bought the ticket; that means the agent issued a ticket and because the agent has issued the ticket and has collected the money already from you, he may not have remitted the money to the airline”.
“Remittances to the airline is in two weeks, sometimes it is three weeks or a month. It depends on the Billing Settlement Plan that you have. That is very simple. You go to your agent that you bought the ticket from to ask for the refund. It is in the IATA billing system. So, money cannot be missing. It is either IATA has already transferred the money to the airline or the agent will transfer it to the passenger”.
“I am talking about local airline; it is a different ball game. We are already talking about Aero, other local airlines that use system do not have to go through BSP or IATA clearing house. That means what they need to do is that they have direct agreement with travel agents. Travel agents may have put bank guarantee or cash or something else. That one is very simple. It is one on one thing. If I have already paid the travel agent, I will go to the travel agent to refund my money. The travel agent will look at it, has he transferred the money to the airline? They will refund the money to the passengers. If the passenger feels like leaving the ticket the way it when we open up so that he can use it, so be it”.
Asked if the ticket revalidation would come with extra charges and conditions, Sanusi said tickets issued before the lockdown will not attract extra cost, stressing that it cannot come with conditions because it was not the fault of the airline or the passenger that COVID-19 happened.
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