In order to save the air transport
sector, which is described as a catalyst to economic development of any
nation, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel
Agencies (NANTA), Mr. Bankole Bernard has urged authorities to declare a
state of emergency in the aviation industry.
source: thisdaylive.com
Bernard pointed out the poor airport
infrastructure, high cost and scarcity of aviation fuel and lack of
major maintenance facility as some of the factors that have dogged the
progress of the industry. He said declaring a state of emergency in the
sector would attract the attention of government to rescue the sector,
noting that its collapse would certainly erode the nation’s economy and
exacerbate the current recession the country is facing.
Speaking during a breakfast meeting in
Lagos at the weekend, Bernard said instead of growing, the sector has
been regressing and all the successes achieved in the past are being
lost.
NANTA boss observed that the economic
downturn and lack of incentive policies prompted foreign airlines to
leave the country, starting with Iberia and United Airlines and forced
Emirates and British Airways to reduce their frequency and capacity
respectively, but in reaction to this development, people said it did
not matter, adding that the situation has now degenerated to the extent
that some domestic airlines are forced to suspend scheduled services.
Bernard said it has become imperative
for NANTA to speak on the state of the industry because the body is at
liberty to speak without fear or favour.
He said during the time when most of the
foreign airlines funds were trapped in Nigeria, NANTA cried out that if
some of these airlines leave, the country may be at risk of losing 300,
000 jobs that even when the money was finalised released, the airlines
have lost about 40 -50 of the value of their tickets.
He lamented that government policy in the industry is not favorable both to the domestic airline operators and foreign airlines.
“Nigerian airports are obsolete and have
nothing to write home about, instead of genuine development; rather
kiosks are springing up here and there at our airports where shopping
malls are springing up in other serious airports. Ghana has seen our
inadequacies and has reduced their aviation fuel by 25 percent in a bid
to reposition Accra as a hub and are working to establish their national
carrier, by so doing, it will be coming to Nigeria to take our
passengers and take off from Accra. Even some of the airlines now
quarter their crew in Ghana. This will take money away from Nigeria’s
economy to Ghana and this will force the travel agencies to start
relocating to Ghana. This is the reason why a state or emergency should
be declared in the aviation industry or the industry will disappear
completely” Bernard said.
He said that government needs to come to
the aid of the aviation industry to save it from total collapse as the
Nigerian travelling public is suffering.
Furthermore, Bernard noted that the body
has held meetings with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and
other relevant agencies with a view of salvaging the situation, adding
that though the government is still looking at generating revenues from
tourism but that the country is still struggling to get one percent of
its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from tourism.
According to him, “Tourism industry cannot grow without a perfect aviation industry.”
NANTA boss also expressed concern about
the state of the Abuja runway, which he said is a major source of
concern to the airlines as South Africa Airways flight was recently
damaged by bad state of runway which left the aircraft grounded for days
and the passengers were lodged at Sheraton Abuja at the high cost of
money to the airline and inconvenience of the passengers.
Bernard remarked that now that the
country does not have a national carrier it could designate present
domestic carriers to play such roles pending when government would be
able to establish a national airline.
He said up till, now the Maintenance
Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities are still lacking in the country,
adding that other nations depend on aviation to grow their economy while
Nigeria is struggling to generate revenue in the industry.
Bernard noted that if Ghana succeeds in
their plans of making Accra a hub in West Africa, airlines would be
coming from Ghana to pick passengers from Nigeria and travel agents
would start relocating to Ghana, stressing that this would create wealth
for Ghana and money that supposed to be spent in Nigeria would now be
spent in Ghana.
NANATA president said that this is already happening as some airlines are keeping their crew members in Accra.
