The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said that the Federal Government has written to the United Kingdom to allow Nigerian carriers especially Air Peace to operate to Heathrow Airport, which is first tier airport in the country.
Keyamo said that in the principle of reciprocity that Nigeria designates British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways to its first tier airports, which are the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja in accordance to Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) signed between the two countries; so, UK authorities should reciprocate by allowing Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, which is currently operating from Gatwick, to move to the first tier Heathrow Airport.
Speaking at the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) seminar in Lagos yesterday, Keyamo said Nigeria would no longer tolerate a situation where the domestic airlines are not allowed to tier one airports overseas which is in line with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement.
He said failure not to allow Air Peace into Heathrow may lead to Nigeria taking British Airways to a less busy airport in the country.
The Minister stated that in the absence of a national carrier, the government would support local airlines and give them whatever they need to survive and succeed.
“We should have flag carriers which will make us very proud and that will service our reciprocal right and the BASA that we have but they must make sure they raise the global standards and make us proud. We are working and collaborating with Nigerian carriers to ensure that they are supported. We have already written to the United Kingdom to give Nigerian carriers, especially Air Peace, Heathrow Airport, which is a tier one airport, just as we gave British Airways Lagos, our tier one airport. We may as well give BA Ilorin to operate to.
“When we asked for Heathrow Airport, you’re telling us to go to a slot committee. Who does that? Air Peace I can tell you is on its way to Heathrow away from Gatwick,“ he said.
He assured that the government would look into so many BASA agreements it has that are not working in the interest of domestic airlines, stressing that domestic airlines need to be supported and must show capacity to reciprocate many of the agreements.
“Air France flies to Nigeria and no Nigerian airline is flying to Paris. Lufthansa flies to Nigeria, but no Nigerian airline is flying to Frankfurt. Delta flies to Nigeria but no Nigerian airline flies to the US. South Africa Airways flies to Nigeria and no Nigerian carrier reciprocates. Nigerian carriers are constrained, which is why you have a high mortality rate of airlines in Nigeria. Over 150 Nigerian carriers have been extinct in the last 35 years, which is very disheartening”.
