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Airline Operators Warn of Imminent Domestic Flight Ticket Rise to N100,000

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Nigerians may soon pay as high as N100,000 for domestic flights if the lingering high cost of aviation fuel continues.

This is the position of domestic airlines under the aegis of  Airline Operators of Nigeria, who also blamed foreign exchange among other challenges they are facing.

Spokesperson for local airlines and Chairman, United Airlines, Prof.

Obiora Okonkwo, made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen in Abuja.

Aside from the lingering aviation price hike crisis, the airline chief said local operators were being compelled to source foreign exchange from the parallel market at high rates due to a lack of adequate supply from the Central bank of Nigeria via the commercial banks.

Consequently, he said an increase in the base economy flight ticket to at least N100,000 might be inevitable for all domestic airline operators if the current situation persists.

“Obviously, it is inevitable. I can tell you that all the airline operators, in the last three months, have been losing money, a huge amount of money. There is too much stress on the operational fronts for them to break even. Even if the aviation fuel is made available, there must be a review to reflect the minimal operational cost. We are offering patriotic services to the nation and understand the essential part of it. We are part of this economic development process in Nigeria but it is coming at a very huge sacrifice,” Okonkwo said.

He added, “Nothing less than N100,000, between N100,000 and N120,000 base price, even with Jet A1 fuel at N400 – N500. That is what it is.”

In this regard, he added that meetings with the CBN ad yet to yield any positive result in the provision of adequate forex.

He further stressed the need for the aviation industry to be seen as an essential service that should have special consideration in financial matters.

Okonkwo clarified that the operators have no joy in increasing fares but it has become necessary for them to avoid shutting down and running out of business.

He added, “In the industry, it is expected that you will gain some here and lose some here but the biggest challenge indigenous operators are having is that the cost of everything is high. You source money from the commercial bank rates. You source money from the black market. No moratorium for your loans and the banks and AMCON are quick to jump on you.”

Corroborating this view, the Chief Operating Officer, Ibom Air, Mr. George Uriesi, said local airlines had reached a point in their operational cost whereby “something has to give in.”

“Something has to give in. It’s either the prices of fuel that come down or the prices of airfares go up from where they are. So far, the airlines have tried very much to work within the airfares as they are. All sides of the divide are aware that the airlines have done the best that they can do.

“I don’t know what tomorrow holds but at some point, if the airline doesn’t survive, it goes down, to the detriment of everybody-the people who work for the airline, the people who fly on the airline, the country’s economy, everything goes down. So, airlines are just trying to be stable and patriotic. That’s where we are,” Uriesi said.

Uriesi, a former managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, said it was difficult to tell how long the local carriers would be able to continue with the high operational cost.

 “It’s very hard to say, we are watching the business every day, we’re watching a number of parameters. We’re watching the load factor, we’re watching the yield per passenger, we are watching the cost of operating at the price we’re paying every day which keeps going up every few days. So, the truth from this is that, when it becomes clear that you will not be able to sustain yourself, then you’ll have to adjust some of your indices, always taking into consideration the ability of the passenger to pay because you can’t just raise prices just because fuel has gone up. If you issue what they can’t pay, then you will not carry anybody, you would have committed suicide.”

However, industry experts said the unfolding development would not augur well for the local airline industry, saying it could make its outlook bleaker.

The Chief Executive Officer, Centurion Aviation Safety and Consult, Group Captain John Ojikutu, (retd), said, “This is not a good sign for the domestic airline industry. We should ask ourselves why the four refineries have not been working for the past 20 years. If you have refineries and crude oil, and you are refining, there should be no reason for the type of increase in aviation fuel price we’re having.

“Even when this fuel gets back to this country, we transport them by fuel tankers when in other countries they transfer them through pipelines.”

According to a former Managing Director of Associated Airlines, Mr Alex Nwuba, foresee a reduction in passenger traffic if airfares become too high.

“We didn’t die when flights couldn’t operate during the COVID-19, people adapted so people will adapt. They may just have to forfeit some trips that are not important and focus on trips that are important. They could also decide to choose alternative methods of travel when the fares are too high,” he said.

A former Director of Operations, IRS Airlines, Kenneth Wemambu, said, “Airlines have been losing money. A business person, if the cost of operation increases by over 200 per cent, you will need to avoid running the business. This is why the possibility of an airfare hike can’t be ruled out.

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Aviation

Passengers Stranded as NLC Locks Down Abuja Airport

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By Idris Umar Feta Abuja

Many air travellers were left stranded following the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Thursday.

A combined team of NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) blocked both the entry and exit ways of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

The protest was part of the series of actions that the two labour unions say they would zero in on Imo, following the attack on the NLC president, Joe Ajaero.

The NLC and TUC had on Tuesday, declared a nationwide strike, which will commence on Tuesday, November 14, due to the face-off with the Imo State Government.

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Soludo Names Airport After  Achebe

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Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo has renamed the state’s International Passenger and Cargo Airport after the late Chinua Achebe, a novelist, to immortalise him for making an indelible mark on the history of human civilisation.

Achebe a native of Ogidi in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state, died on March 21, 2013, at age 82, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Soludo said this on Sunday in Awka at the Independence Day parade, to mark Nigeria’s 63rd anniversary, describing Achebe as an example of Africa’s unsung hero.

“Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic, gave the African literature an identity and a voice and he rightly reconstructed and refined the identify of the people,” he said.

The governor said that Achebe was not just an Anambra hero nor a Nigerian hero, but an African and global hero and yet largely unsung at home.

He said that henceforth, the state shall be deliberate in fishing out and celebrating its largely unsung heroes as motivation to children and youths.

“Unfortunately, some people wrongly think of legacies in terms of brick and mortar. Legacy is about impact on human life and human civilisation.

“Achebe was not a president or governor or military. He did not build bridges or roads or airports but he will outlive most presidents, governors and ministers in our minds.

“Achebe rejected Nigeria’s national honours twice in protest against what he perceived as injustice to his home state Anambra. Today, Anambra will finally honour him.

“After wide consultations, there is a broad consensus that no one is more deserving to be named after the first airport in Anambra than Anambra’s all-time greatest literary gift to the world, Chinua Achebe.

“Consequently, we will rename the Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport, Umueri, to Chinua Achebe International Airport, Umueri.

“Yes, it has to be an international airport, and we hope to work with the Federal Government to give full effect to its international status,” he said.

Soludo urged Nigerians to be intentional about making the project Nigeria work and believe in the potential greatness of the country.

“We have muddled through the past 63 years with squandered opportunities and yet with the promise of potential greatness

“No country or nation is a perfect. Every nation continues to struggle in its match to a more perfect union. The path to stability, growth and sustainability will be challenging as there are no quick fixes.

“But all of us must collectively think and work Nigeria out of the current challenges. We have no other country but Nigeria, and we must make it to work for everyone, “he said.

The governor said his administration was founded on the true progressive agenda and would continue to create the enabling environment for residents to thrive and survive.

The police, paramilitary organisations and students from different schools took part in the parade. (NAN)

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Abiodun flags off Aviation Village construction

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Abiodun flags off Aviation Village construction

Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun on Tuesday flagged off the construction of 200 units of two-bedroom expanded bungalows, at the Gateway Aviation Village, Iperu in Ikenne Local Government Area of the state.

The governor, represented by his Special Adviser on Housing, Jagunmolu Omoniyi, said the project would herald the creation of a new city in the town and serve the entire Remo cluster and the state in general.

He said the project was divided into two phases, with the first 100 units to be ready in six months.

According to the governor, the siting of the housing scheme would serve institutions and people who will make use of the Gateway Agro-Cargo Airport.

Abiodun noted that government agencies like the Customs, the Nigerian Air Force and other corporate bodies had already indicated interest in the airport.

He said that the project would create jobs for about 5,000 artisans of various skills in the course of execution.

“This is the people’s project. This housing scheme will complement the airport and serve those who will work in this town.

“I can assure you that within two years, the story of this town will change. We will not engage outsiders to work in this estate, but the people of this town.

“We have done similar projects at Kemta, Idi-Aba and Kobape. The siting of similar housing estate has changed the landscape of Kobape, which was a village before, to a lively city,” he said.

The governor called on prospective buyers to start the process by obtaining their forms, charging the people to support and take ownership of the project for the development of the town.

In his remarks, the Chairman of Ikenne Local Government Area, Mr Segun Ogunleye, expressed gratitude to the governor, saying with the siting of the housing estate and the cargo airport, the development of the town was assured.(NAN)

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