DESPITE the huge size and the potential that abound in the Nigeria’s aviation sector, which automatically should have positioned Nigeria on top of the ladder in Africa, the sector is still wobbling due to obvious challenges.
It is quite clear that the sector is not where it is supposed to be owing to factors like undue politicisation, lack of board of directors for government agencies in the sector for almost nine years, inconsistent government policies, hostile business environment, scarcity of foreign exchange (forex), expensive Jet A1 fuel, absence of MRO facilities, failure of government to play international politics and the lopsided air transport agreements otherwise known as Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA).
While these myriad of problems dragging down the soul of the sector remain unresolved despite the huge human capacity available, the negative consequences of the challenges are taking their tolls on the principal actors in the sector.
Though the spiral effects of the challenges have not exempted the agencies as witnessed in their inability to perform optimally in areas like trainings, projects execution, infrastructure and many others, the worst hit are the domestic airlines.
To say that Nigerian carriers are presently standing on one leg may not be an exaggeration in view of their precarious state which, if not urgently addressed, may lead to their extinction.
It may be easy to say that over 30 domestic airlines have closed shop in recent years, but what remains a mystery is that most reasons responsible for the fall of the airlines are still haunting even the existing ones.
Sadly, in a country of over 200 million people, out of the 10 airlines existing, only two or three are operating halfway while others are gasping for breath amidst excruciating predicaments.
To say the airlines are operating under a tight situation is an understatement as their fleet have been depleted by 50 percent, a situation which is responsible for the regular flight cancellations or delays being experienced across airports.
Some of the airlines are faced with the challenge of accessing enough forex to facilitate the maintenance of their aircraft outside the country while the aircraft already flown out cannot be brought back still because of the high exchange rate.
Even the aircraft in operations are doing so under a very critical atmosphere due to unfriendly economic conditions which have added to their cost of operation.
The heavy load pulling down the airlines has not exempted passengers who have remained the sacrificial lamb as they are at the receiving end of the actions often taken by airlines in response to the confrontational problems which often lead to higher fares.
While the inability of the few domestic airlines to meet the demands of passengers who have been forced to take solace in air travels as an alternative to road transport because of insecurity becomes deeper, the total grounding of Dana Air by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has further complicated issues in the domestic air transport scene in the country.
As the domestic airlines are struggling for survival in Nigeria due to bad policies among other reasons, there seems to be a faint hope for domestic carriers on the international routes where only foreign carriers are in charge.
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In a country with the largest concentration of black race who have been adjudged the most travelled and with the strategic position of the Nigerian market, the contradiction becomes more manifested in the poor outing of Nigerian airlines with respect to foreign operations.
Presently, the only Nigerian airline operating outside the country, Air Peace, which has all what it takes to excel, has been facing too many distractions ranging from unjustifiable aero politics on all the foreign routes it is designated to without commensurate reciprocity until of recent.
Considering the population of the country and the number of airlines, not less than two or three airlines from Nigeria should be flying the flag of the country around the world, which unfortunately has become rocket science.
Without trying to create any panic, it is obvious that all is not well with the critical components of the sector, particularly the domestic carriers that are under huge challenges.
Without doubt, there is an urgent need for the government to review its policies and other unpopular regulations hindering the profitability of airlines and the growth of the sector generally. Doing the same thing same way will not bring any good dividends.
Nigeria’s aviation sector has all what it requires to make it a role model but not under the present conditions.
