nigeria’s aviation sector hits turbulence
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Nigeria’s aviation sector hits turbulence

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleNigeria’s aviation sector hits turbulence

Passengers alight from a Med-View Airline flight at Maiduguri airport
Lagos - Arab Today

Nigeria may consider itself a regional aviation hub but years of mismanagement and now recession have blighted domestic airline operations, making delays and cancelations the norm.
Industry experts say the sector needs a fundamental overhaul, pointing to opaque management practices, rampant corruption and risks for passengers from security and dilapidated infrastructure.
Arik Air, which has a 60 percent share of domestic flights and is the country’s biggest private carrier, has found itself increasingly in the firing line of disgruntled passengers.
Earlier this month, irate passengers beat up one of its executives at Lagos international airport after the third consecutive cancelation of their flight to Johannesburg.
In December, Arik operations were grounded by a 24-hour strike by employees demanding the payment of seven months arrears in salary. There was no response from Arik when asked to comment on the situation by AFP.
Other domestic operators are struggling. Aero Contractors, the second biggest carrier, stopped services for four months at the end of last year because of “serious financial difficulties.”
For John Ojikutu, an aviation security consultant, most Nigerian airlines run their businesses like a grocery store. “They just want to make profit,” he told AFP.
The result is airlines in Nigeria generally have a short life span: In 35 years more than 40 operators have gone bust, including Nigeria Airways, which collapsed in 2003.
Ojikutu said the airlines are heavily in debt and “taking advantage” of the country.
“People are... operating without paying the fuel marketers, without paying their staff, without paying for the services they are given (insurance, maintenance),” he said.
“If they are not making profit, the question is what do they really do with all this money?... They are selling tickets every day. As long as we do not have a strong, credible, independent regulatory agency we cannot have a viable aviation industry in this country.”
In their defense, the airlines blame a lack of foreign currency that has left them unable to pay fuel suppliers or, in some cases, landing charges at airports outside Nigeria.
Nigeria is one of Africa’s main oil producers but is forced to export crude and import petroleum products because of a lack of domestic refining capacity.
The fall in the price of crude on international markets has seen the naira currency lose value against the dollar and Nigerian banks no longer have enough liquidity.
Foreign airlines such as United and Iberia have stopped flights to Nigeria because of difficulties in repatriating profits in dollars.
In September last year, members of the House of Representatives asked the government to declare a state of emergency in the aviation sector, saying 160,000 jobs were at risk.
Lawmakers also called for an investigation into the alleged misappropriation of public funds in 2012 meant to modernize the sector.
Two years ago, the Nigerian state got on the board of several airlines, including Arik and Aero, through its Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.
But according to Ojikutu, no serious audit has been carried out to evaluate the real financial situation of the companies.
“Funders and banks may have been too lenient in granting credit to Nigerian airlines for excessive expansion on the basis that somehow government (or AMCON) will step in to protect banks from failing due to non-performing loans to airlines,” added Joachim Vermooten, an expert in transport economics at the University Johannesburg.
Another major challenge is upgrading aging infrastructure, which cannot handle the millions of passengers who now travel every day through Nigerian airports.
From early March for example, the airport in Abuja will close for six weeks for major resurfacing work on the only runway serving the federal capital.
The runway, which was built in 1982 with a life span of 20 years, is now “completely gone” and “unsafe for operation,” according to the aviation minister Hadi Sirika.
“The entire structure of the runway has failed,” he said.
Passengers for Abuja will have to land at Kaduna, some 200 kilometers to the north and transit to the capital by bus on a road known for frequent kidnappings.
The airport closure is the talk of Abuja, underlining not just Nigeria’s reliance on air transport but the lack of a viable alternative.

Source: Arab News

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

nigeria’s aviation sector hits turbulence nigeria’s aviation sector hits turbulence

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 08:32 2011 Monday ,25 July

Sabri accuses Yusri in Souad Hosni’s murder

GMT 12:07 2014 Monday ,03 February

Home design ideas

GMT 11:20 2017 Thursday ,02 March

Mexico central bank cuts growth outlook over Trump

GMT 08:31 2017 Tuesday ,28 November

Bangladesh upholds death sentence for 139 soldiers

GMT 14:33 2017 Thursday ,20 April

US defense secretary vows support for Egypt's Sisi

GMT 16:12 2017 Wednesday ,20 December

Myanmar bars UN rights investigator just before visit

GMT 08:21 2017 Wednesday ,30 August

United Technologies near deal to buy Rockwell Collins

GMT 18:27 2017 Friday ,21 April

ARCO condemns targeting of ERC convoy in Somalia

GMT 07:23 2017 Tuesday ,21 November

perched in Jerusalem's hills may soon vanish

GMT 19:33 2017 Tuesday ,10 October

US scientists engineer corn to boost protein

GMT 08:43 2017 Monday ,04 December

Brexit deal 'difficult but doable': diplomats

GMT 11:24 2017 Friday ,03 March

Lego honors 'Women of NASA'

GMT 11:35 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

Bahrain's top Shiite cleric hospitalised

GMT 21:39 2017 Saturday ,30 September

Abdel Karim praises Egypt’s role

GMT 10:11 2017 Tuesday ,12 December

Latest Grateful Dead resurrection -- a duo

GMT 15:43 2017 Monday ,04 December

Yemen's Huthi rebels claim ex-president Saleh killed

GMT 15:59 2017 Thursday ,30 November

Bahrain Bourse daily trading performance
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle