The National Association of Nigeria
Travel Agencies (NANTA) has expressed worry over the current state of
Nigeria’s international airports, including the Murtala Muhammed
Airport, Lagos; Mallam Aminu Kano International airport, Kano and the
Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, saying the airports have
suffered serious neglect and infrastructural decay over the years.
The outgoing National President of
NANTA, Alhaji Aminu Agoha, who made the observation after stakeholders
meeting in Lagos recently said the poor state of the airports, prompted
the plan by major foreign airlines operating in Nigeria to withdraw
their operations.
But in a swift reaction, the Federal
Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has denied that the airports are in
deplorable condition, insisting that the NANTA’s observation was
exaggerated.
According to spokesman of the NCAA,
Yakubu Dati, construction work is going on at the airports mentioned and
new terminals are being built at those airports, which would come on
stream later in the year. He said that no international airline has
given indication to leave Nigeria due to poor facilities at the airport;
rather some of the airlines are increasing frequencies into the
country.
NANTA also faulted the international
airlines for the higher fares in Nigeria compared to what they charge in
other countries in Africa.
’’The disparity in fares is alarming and
we wonder why Nigeria should be singled out for this rip-off. We see no
reason why a flight ticket from Accra, Ghana to Europe or USA on some
airlines would be cheaper than from Lagos to the same destinations on
the same airline.
For instance, a first class ticket to Las Vegas from
Lagos is N1.8 million more than a first class ticket to the same
destination from Accra! Nigerian travellers are now developing Ghanaian
economy. These travel agencies are making huge sales from the Nigerian
travelers while most of our Nigerian agencies are folding up,” Agoha
said.
He said before the current monetary
policy in Nigeria, there was an increased influx of foreign airlines
into the Nigerian market, noting that ordinarily, this should depict
great revenue potential for Nigerian travel agents, but this however was
not the case.
per cent of the funds
spent on the re-modelling of airport facilities in the last few years
were deployed by government to establish the facilit
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/fg-urged-partner-private-airlines-establish-mro-nigeria/
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/fg-urged-partner-private-airlines-establish-mro-nigeria/
