Former Special Assistant to The President on Aviation Matters and Managing Director, Afri-Air International Limited, Capt. Shehu Iyal has said that there is need for efforts to ensure that players in Nigeria’s aviation industry survive the existing economic challenges while working on sustainability of the industry in the future.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the FAAN National Aviation Conference (FNAC) 2023 held at International Conference Centre, Abuja under the theme, “Sustainability Of The Aviation Industry In Nigeria, Iyal said Nigeria’s airlines are at the mercy of so many variables ranging from Jet A1, getting a boarding gate, to other factors and that their survival is paramount.
“There is no airline in Nigeria today that can boast of making profit under the present situation. Survival is a key issue for airlines,” he said.
He urged the government to pay more attention to how aviation agencies and other players can survive, stating that survival may be difficult for FAAN for instance, which loses 40% of its revenue in remittance regularly.
Iyal noted however that sustainability of the industry is important considering that Nigeria is a blessed country with prospects, placed in a position to be a hub, with airlines recently acquiring modern airplanes that carry few passengers, yet having capacity to give break-even point to the business. He called for encouragement of local airlines with waivers.
Iyal lamented the challenges domestic airlines face in Nigeria due to high cost of operation, which include the high price of aviation fuel, known as Jet A1, high aircraft insurance premium and multiple charges and taxes, saying that it would be extremely difficult for airlines to make profit under the precarious operating environment.
“Airlines are at the mercy of so many variables. They are at the mercy of the availability of Jet A1, if it is there, at what price? They are at the mercy of even getting a boarding gate at some airports. There is no airline in Nigeria today that can boast of making a profit in any circumstance. So, what the Managing Director of FAAN, Captain Rabiu Yadudu said is what we should take home. He said there is an airport in America, they even gave an airline some money so that they would come and fly there in order to develop the airport. We are in a very bad situation, I don’t operate an airline but I have friends that operate an airline. In fact I wonder how they do it. So lets not over tax or overwhelm the airlines to get into trouble, because they are already in trouble. Captain Yadudu said what we need for the airline is more sustainability, survival. So, they should survive. Sometimes, those of us that come from Lagos-Abuja, when I see the passengers in these aeroplanes, I see the load factor, I wonder if they are even able to pay parking, landing and fueling costs,” Iyal said.
Iyal who is Fixed-base operator at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) at the Lagos airport, also said that the aviation industry in Nigeria needs more support and noted that the industry plays critical role as economic driver of any nation.
“There is a need for the government to realise that aviation is more than business because it buoys the economy of every nation. So, there is no reason why airports and airlines should have the kind of problems we are having today because aviation is a component of national security. So for whatever reason, we must find a way of helping them to survive. After that we talk about sustainability. So it is in two stages but if we want to carry the two of them together fine. We must realise that there is a need for survival.
However, Iyal remarked that despite the challenges the airlines face in Nigeria, the domestic market is still growing and when the right factors are in place the industry would be rewarding to operators, noting that there is still room for growth, adding that new airlines which have joined the market have come in with fuel efficient aircraft and largely narrow body equipment.
