Xenophobia: Low traffic from Nigeria hurts S’African Airways

• Individuals, firms cancel seminar, social functions
• Airline record low load factor-Rewane

The strained relationship between Nigeria and South Africa over xenophobia may have taken a toll on South African Airways (SAA), the national carrier of the southern African nation.

Amid the drop in passenger traffic to the area, cash strapped SAA is on life support as the country’s government cash injection of 5.5 billion rand ($376 million) approved for the 2019/20 financial year is expected at the end of the month, but it still needs more money, a presentation to lawmakers showed on Wednesday.

South African Airways has a debt of about 12.7 billion rand, consisting of 9.2 billion rand of legacy debt and a 3.5 billion rand working capital facility provided by banks.

The Nigerian route is like life blood to SAA and has done everything to remain very competitive against Nigerian airlines.

A source at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, who is conversant with airlines’ processing of passengers and who pleaded anonymity, said that the surge in passenger traffic to the area from Lagos had seriously dwindled, adding that travellers are refusing to travel to Johannesburg, Pretoria or Durban; three major South African cities or use them as transit point because of fear for their security.

A visit to the counters of the airline by Woleshadarenews on Thursday showed a few passengers travelling to the former apartheid enclave unlike in the past when it recorded a full load despite the fact that South African Airways is on government’s life support.

The airline, shortly before the Abuja Airport runway was repaired in April 2019, operated 14 weekly frequencies to Lagos and Abuja. But after the reconstruction, the carrier now flies into Lagos daily on a seven frequencies basis.

Nigeria has Bilateral Air Services Agreement with South Africa, which is one sided as the country, for now, does not have an airline to reciprocate the deal.

Arik Air was the last Nigerian airline to operate to Johannesburg. The carrier, before it ceased its international operations over three years ago, ‘competed’ with SAA on the lucrative route.\

The Lagos-Johannesburg route is one that Air Peace plans to operate after acquiring three B777 from Emirates. The airline had, in July 2019, begun the very lucrative Lagos-Dubai route.

Chairman, Air Peace Airlines, Mr. Allen Onyema, while fielding questions from journalists shortly after the return of another batch of 315 Nigerians trapped in South Africa, disclosed that tourists were now shunning South Africa because of xenophobia, raising questions on why South Africa degenerated to the situation where fellow Africans are killed.

He commended the Federal Government for the strong support given to his carrier to rescue trapped citizens in the country.

Nigeria began repatriating more than 600 of its citizens from South Africa following a wave of deadly xenophobic attacks that frayed diplomatic relations with neighbouring nations.

Air Peace volunteered to fly people for free back to the commercial city of Lagos. The returnees, who expressed mixed emotions on their return, burst into tears as they alighted from the aircraft that flew them into Lagos. They expressed their bitter experiences in the hands of South Africans.

Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivative Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, in his monthly bulletin, said low load factor driven by insecurity occasioned by xenophobia challenges has led to drop in traffic to the Southern African nation.

Woleshadarenews learnt from a source close to South African tourism that many Nigerians, who had slated their weddings for Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg, have all cancelled or taken them to other countries.

Many conferences, church activities and programmes also suffered same fate; bringing a huge loss to the country.

“I feel that my safety is not guaranteed in Durban, so I have made up my mind not to attend,” said a Nigerian, Oluyinka Akande, who was due to attend an aviation and allied conference.

“A lot of people would have taken the same decision because nobody wants to go to a country where he or she is not safe,” he added.

Operators in tourism hub, Cape Town, are seeing business dip even though the coastal city has escaped the unrest.

Cape Town beaches, rolling vineyards and attractions like Table Mountain and Robben Island draw visitors from all over the world.

Australia, Botswana, China and the UK have issued travel warnings to their citizens following the anti-immigrant attacks and Nigeria’s action to evacuate her citizens has further dented the image of the country.

“We have received a few reports from our members of cancellations being received due to fears of xenophobic violence,” Cape Town Tourism top executive told our Woleshadarenews  without giving numbers.

Africans account for more than 60 per cent of visitors, with nearly 700,000 coming on holidays in December last year, Statistics South Africa data shows.

“The xenophobic attacks carry grave and dire consequences across several sectors: our businesses operating in Africa, our tourism, our reputation, our investment levels, our ability to borrow money and the safety of our people in other countries,” the Cape Town Tourism top executive added.

Meanwhile, some of the returnees recounted their ordeal. One of them, Olufunmilayo Adefisayo, a single mother, said: “I went to South Africa in 2009 through human trafficking. They wanted to use me for prostitution, but I resisted.

“They used me for slavery and I wriggled out after five years to do business, but it was tough. I am happy to be home. I am a single mother. That is what I can say for now. It is my life story, I don’t sell it for free,” she added.

Another returnee, who gave his name simply as Ugorji, who looked ill, said her experience in South Africa was not a wish for her enemy.

Her words: “I was ambushed by some horrible looking criminals who threatened to kill me except I offered them money. I pleaded with them that I had just 1,000 rand on me. I was beaten mercilessly. I was lucky to survive. My younger brother was killed last year. It is a horrible experience.”

Uzodimma Okeke, who arrived with her husband and two little children, wept profusely and thanked God for sparing their lives.

She said on a Monday morning, criminals had surrounded their shop where they sell groceries, sprinkled fuel outside their shop.

“I was inside the shop with my husband and two children who returned from school. Thank God there was a window at the back that was unknown to the attackers. Immediately they set fire on the entire building housing our shop, my family and I escaped through the back window.

“How we managed to squeeze ourselves through the window was a miracle. We can never go back to that terrible country. There is no place like home,” she said with a wry smile.

Wole Shadare