Mixed reactions on Wednesday greeted the suspension of the proposed national carrier: Nigeria Air as airline operators and industry players describing it as an expected outcome.
They said the suspension of the controversial project is evidence that government did not get its act right in the project that has elicited much debate because of the modalities; equity structure and lack of transparency that shrouded it.
The federal government said on Wednesday the national carrier project had been suspended indefinitely.
Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation, made this known on Wednesday.
“I regret to announce that the Federal Executive Council has taken the tough decision to suspend the National Carrier Project in the interim. All commitments due will be honoured. We thank the public for the support as always,” he wrote on Twitter.
The umbrella body of domestic carriers- Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), it was learnt will make its position known on the matter, as its Executive Chairman, Captain Nogie Meggison is out of the country.
The AON, a few months ago said the concept of national carrier was no longer fashionable.
Speaking in an interview, a member of industry think tank group- Aviation Round Table Safety Initiative, Group Capt. Johm Ojikutu said the suspension of the national carrier was evidence that the promoters of the project could not get their acts right.
He said he was not surprised about the development because the Minister of State , Aviation, Hadi Sirika and other representatives of government could not provide answers to some of the questions raised about the project.
Ojikutu said : “The suspension of the national carrier project means that government could not get its acts right. Why should the project not fail, when some of us has raised concerns about the equity structure, the modalities they claimed they were going to use. How come the government could not give full disclosure on which the supposed investors would be. All these point to the fact that somethings were not right about the project. Perhaps, the promoters could not achieve what they wanted with the project; they have to now call it off. Some of us had always suspected that something was not very clear about the national carrier.
“Why government should fund a so called national carrier, and failed to give details on the equity structure. Why should government have allowed competitors to be partners in the new project.”
Stakeholders, a few months ago claimed that the attempt to re-establish a new national carrier for Nigeria had been shrouded in secrecy, while the model to be adopted by the government is not known to players in the sector.
They specifically queried the approval of $308million as startup grants for the airline and the institutional investors who, Siika claimed, would have 95 per cent shares in the airline while the Federal Government would hold the remaining 5 per cent.
One of the union leaders in the industry, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, the General Secretary of National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), warned that until the government pays the final severance packages of the staff of the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways, the unions in the sector would ensure that the plan does not come into fruition.
According to Abioye, the unions had resolved that before the government commences a new national carrier, the severance packages of the former workers must be paid in full.
He also explained that the planned new national carrier runs contrary to the earlier position of the government on establishing a new carrier for the government.
Abioye declared that the government had planned to establish a private sector-driven airline, but noted that so far, no investor is known to any member of the public.
Also, Chairman of Air Peace, Barr. Allen Onyema said that it was important government provided a level playing field for the domestic investors who had put their monies in the airline business without any form of support and protection from government.
He explained that government and its agencies in the sector were contributing to the death of domestic airline operators through granting of multiple entry points to foreign airlines without reciprocity.
He specifically mentioned Ethiopian Airlines as one of the carriers that benefited from the lopsidedness.
He said: “Some people who call themselves experts in the sector will talk nonsense about operating airlines in the country. The so called experts should set up airlines and see what will happen to their airlines. These are the same set of people government takes advise from.
“The government should create level playing field for all operators even with the emergence of the new national carrier.””
Chairman of African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) and former Secretary General of African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Mr. Nick Fadugba, said there are many unanswered questions in terms of the management, funding and fleet of the new airline.
Fadugba noted that the government is already the de facto owner of both Aero and Arik through the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) and wondered how it would manage these airlines and at the same time establish a new national carrier.
He argued that the proposed Nigeria Air ought to have a synergy with other carriers so they could better harness the huge international market.
“There are many questions that need to be answered in terms of the management, the funding and the fleet. So, I believe the government needs to brief the Nigerian people on the national carrier. Rather than doing it abroad, we need to come home and explain to the whole nation what the concept is.”