Nigeria’s aviation loses N400bn yearly – air transporters

Stakeholders in the aviation industry have petitioned the Federal Government over Nigeria’s loss of over N400 billion annually for its inability to maximise the huge potentials in the sector.
The Secretary General of National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Olayinka Abioye, said this in Lagos.

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He said that it is an ugly realisation that while in isolated countries such as Iceland and New- Zealand, air transport contributes five per cent to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nigeria oscillates between 0.4 per cent along with economically backward countries such as Philippines and Sri – Lanka.
He noted that on the other end of the pendulum, air transport contributes six per cent to the GDP of developing countries that maximally harness the potentials of the industry like United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia, South Africa and even Kenya.
His words: “The aviation industry is supposed to contribute enormously to several aspects of the nation’s economy including supply chain, travels and tourism and the hospitality industry, but such is not the case.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that aviation has the potential to generate 8.4 million jobs in Africa with $539 billion added to the continent’s economy, yet Nigeria is seemingly prostrate to tap into this rare opportunity.
A recent report from IATA noted that the performance of the African aviation industry is still lagging behind those of the rest of the world.
Nonetheless, demand for air transport has increased steadily over the past five years with passenger numbers and freight traffic growing by 45 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.
Over the period 2010- 2015, Africa will be the third fastest growing region in the world in terms of international traffic with an average growth rate of 6.1 per cent compared to the global average of 5.8 per cent, and 6.9 per cent for the Middle East and Asia Pacific, respectively, while Europe, Latin America and North America are projected to record lower international passenger growth of 5.0 per cent, 5.8 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively.
He noted that the inability of the industry to wake up from coma and take advantage of this huge economic potential was even more paradoxical when viewed against the background of several billions that have been committed to the industry, which just seems to have gone down the drain through leaking pipes.

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Wole Shadare