AS key players across the country’s aviation sector continue to express concerns over the depletion in the number of the fleet of the domestic airlines, operators have been advised to focus their flight operations on the local and regional operations and stand down on the Intercontinental operations.
Making this call in an exclusive interview with Nigerian Tribune, a former military commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International airport, Group Captain John Ojikutu, while reacting to the challenges confronting the local airlines which have rendered them almost incapacitated urged the Federal Government to restrict the foreign airlines to either the Lagos or Abuja airport.
The aviation security expert while speaking on how the domestic airlines can get relief from their dire situation, equally charged the government to compel the foreign carriers operating in the country to interline with the domestic airlines for the purpose of connecting transiting international passengers.
“Government must immediately restrict the foreign airlines to either Lagos or Abuja and not anymore to Lagos and Abuja. The foreign airlines must be forced to go into interlining with the Domestic Airlines for connecting transiting International passengers to and from domestic airports and should be paid in dollars.
“The Domestic Airlines should remain in local and Regional operations and stand down on the Intercontinental operations. Where possible, the Domestic Airlines should convert their aircraft into more of cargo operations for local, Regional and Continental where possible, Intercontinental.
“Government and private operators should grade their aeronautical services charges with the airports grading as A, B, C, D and E with the highest charges at A and the lowest at E.
“The Federal Government should, however, drop down the burden of non-aeronautical services for concessions. This is long overdue. The services are the passengers and cargo terminal development and their services charges, carparks, tollgates, etc.
“Other than the oversight and enforcement of the Safety and Security Regulations on the operators as obligations to the national and international communities, government has no business necessarily in commercial aviation businesses.”
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