May 17, (THEWILL) — Stakeholders in Nigeria’s aviation industry have intensified calls for government incentives and financial relief for ground handling companies, warning that the subsector is facing increasing financial pressure from about ₦9 billion in debts owed by domestic airlines.
Ground handling companies remain one of the critical pillars sustaining Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem, providing essential operational support services that keep airport and airline operations running efficiently.
The Chairman of the Aviation Ground Handlers Association of Nigeria (AGHAN), Olaniyi Adigun, who explained why the association suspended its planned industrial action, said the growing debt burden owed to handlers has dangerous implications for aviation safety and business sustainability.
According to Adigun, AGHAN shelved the planned strike after the intervention of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which appealed to the association to suspend the action while efforts are made to resolve the issues raised.
“We stepped down on the planned strike because the NCAA asked for our requests and advised us to suspend the action in the interest of Nigeria”, Adigun explained.
The AGHAN chairman noted that the association also considered its long-standing relationship with domestic airlines before taking the decision.
“These airlines are our business partners, and we have come a long way together”, he added.
Beyond the debt issue, AGHAN is now pushing for broader government intervention and inclusion in ongoing aviation sector support initiatives. A few weeks ago, the Federal Government approved certain incentives for domestic airlines as part of efforts to stabilise the industry.
While commending the intervention, Adigun appealed to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development to extend similar support to other aviation service providers.
Also speaking on the challenges confronting aviation businesses, Director of Research at Zenith Travels, Olumide Ohunayo, stressed that ground handling companies play a strategic role in sustaining flight operations and deserve the same level of consideration being accorded to airlines.
According to Ohunayo, most discussions around intervention and support within the aviation industry have largely centred on airlines, while other investors providing essential operational services continue to battle harsh economic realities without adequate government attention.
Ohunayo noted that ground handling firms are privately owned businesses that invest heavily in equipment, manpower, training and operational infrastructure to keep the nation’s airports functional and aircraft operations seamless.
“Ground handling companies are privately owned, just like the airlines. So, whatever incentive that is being given to a section of the industry should flow round other investors who have brought their funds in to make a profit and also to keep the nation going economically,” he said.
Former Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Samuel Caulcrick, also backed calls for incentives and financial relief for ground handling companies, insisting that the operators play a critical role in sustaining the nation’s aviation ecosystem.
According to him, handlers deserve similar considerations being extended to airline operators because of their strategic importance to flight operations and safety.
For the Managing Director of Flight and Logistics Solutions, Amos Akpan, there is a need for a complete redesign of Nigeria’s aviation policy framework, warning that recurring crises in the sector would persist if the government continues to rely on short-term interventions instead of long-term structural reforms.
Speaking on the agitation by ground handling companies for incentives similar to those extended to airline operators, Akpan said every operator within the aviation value chain deserves an enabling environment to survive and contribute meaningfully to national economic growth.
In his submission, Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe, advised ground handling companies to introduce stricter payment systems capable of eliminating the growing debt profile owed by domestic airlines.
Speaking on the lingering indebtedness of airlines to handling companies, Aligbe said operators must establish a “pay-as-you-go” framework that ensures airlines either pay before services are rendered or immediately after service delivery.
According to him, although the aviation industry traditionally allows credit arrangements between service providers and airlines, such flexibility should no longer continue where airlines consistently fail to honour agreed payment terms.
He explained that the aviation fuel supply chain previously faced similar challenges until fuel marketers redesigned their business model to reduce exposure to bad debts.
“A system must be put in place to cut off the issue of debts. Before services are offered, airlines should pay, or they pay immediately after services are rendered”, he stated.
However, Aligbe disagreed with the demand by ground handling companies for incentives similar to those extended to domestic airlines, insisting that the financial realities confronting airlines are fundamentally different from those facing handlers and other aviation subsectors.
According to him, airline operations function on extremely slim profit margins, making them far more vulnerable to rising operational costs than handling companies, airports and several ancillary service providers.
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
