Save us from total collapse, airline operators tell FG
As the economic recession begins to hit both public and private sectors of the economy, Airline operators in Nigeria yesterday, cried out to the Federal Government to bail them out to prevent them from imminent collapse.
The operators, who made the demand at an emergency interactive session with the Senate Committee on Aviation, asked the government to grant them Special Intervention Fund to remain afloat in business.
Speaking on behalf of the operators under the aegis of Airline Operators Association of Nigeria, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Arik Airline, Chris Ndulue, noted that the present economic environment in the country has made their operations to move from bad to worse, saying, “the economic situation as it is today, is suffocating us out of operation”.
According to him, apart from Aero contractor airline and another one presently under distress, two other airlines might also follow suit, if urgent intervention was not made by the government in form of direct Special Intervention Fund to the Aviation Sector.
He mentioned high interest rate of 24 per cent on bank loans, worsening exchange rate of Naira to dollar and multiple charges from various regulatory agencies as problems running them out of business.
He said: “There are a lot of economic indicators that have made business more difficult, which are now manifesting in the ability of the airlines to continue to operate. “There are many problems, so, many problems.
We are operating in an industry that has very little profit margin. For a start, if you have to borrow money and you have to pay 24 per cent, and you don’t make a margin of 24 per cent, it means that you will find it very difficult to pay back the debt. And there is a limit to what you can do in terms of being able to manage the debt. These fundamentals are the things we need to address.
“The last time we were here at the Senate, the Central Bank of Nigeria was here too, and it was the CBN that made it clear to everybody that the intervention fund earlier granted was not for the airlines.
Culled from New Telegraph
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