July 29, (THEWILL) – Domestic airline operators in Nigeria have lost at least N4.3 billion annually, due to their restriction to operate 24 hours flights daily to the airports of their choice.
Speaking at the 26th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) on Thursday, with the theme: Sunset Airports: Economic and Safety Implications’, held in Lagos, Mr George Uriesi, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ibom Air, said that the lack of 24 hours flight operations to major routes in Nigeria was impeding the growth of the airlines.
According to Uriesi in his paper, ‘Maximising Runway Utilisation: A Nigerian Airline Perspective,’ the country’s carriers are losing an average of N4 million per flight, N12 million in every flight, N360 million in 90 flights and N4.3 billion annually on every flight lost to sunset airport operations.
This restriction, Uriesi noted, has led to a huge underutilisation of aircraft fleets by the Nigerian airlines as against the global industry standards.
He added, “This is due partly because of too many impediments in the operating environment that limit airline productivity.
“These include limited runway availability across the domestic network, multiple operational infrastructure deficiencies, poor organisation and many others.”
In a bid to solve the challenge, Uriesi appealed to the government to prioritise airfield infrastructure and provide the necessary Instrument Landing System (ILS) and accompanying accessories for every airport, while also keeping the aerodromes open to meet the needs of airlines and other users.
Besides, he advised that the government should make current, approved master plans a regulatory requirement for every airport and illegalise non-adherence to the master plans by any organisation.
“Establishing a local aircraft lessor/financing vehicle that would allow for the domiciling of aircraft payments in local currency would make a huge difference to the air transport sector in Nigeria”, he added.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
