Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has called on service providers to ‘tread cautiously’ in their move to recover what the airlines’ body has described as ‘phantom debt’.
Its Executive Chairman, Captain Nogie Meggison, made this known in an interview.
The umbrella body of domestic carriers says, if the agencies, such as Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), are not restrained in the strategy put in place to recover the so-called debts, they may run operators out of business.
NAMA said last week that it would withdraw air traffic advisory services to airlines that fail to comply with the debt recovery drive of the agency.
NAMA said it is taking such drastic step to whip domestic carriers into line because of the over N8. 1 billion owed it by domestic airlines, aerodrome operators as well as state governments running private airports.
Meggison said similar measures by agencies in the past ran many airlines out of business because of ‘ridiculous billings’.
He added: “We strongly decry the ongoing action by the various government agencies in the aviation sector, whereby they threaten to deny airlines services for their operations or completely ground them, as this is likely to force airlines out of business.”
He said because of the economic recession, agencies see airlines as a cash cow to prey on.
The agencies, he said, should realise that air transport is the engine of the economy.
He said: “Hence, if they disturb the airlines, they will damage the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to restore the economy.”
He also said it was for the airlines that an agency like NAMA was created to provide navigational services, explaining that the catering firms, ground services providers, fuel marketers and other ancillary service providers around the airport are also existing because of the airlines.
He continued: “Airlines work tirelessly to airlift Nigerians safely around the country. They are the bedrock of the oil and gas sector on which Nigeria depends a great deal, as well as promote the smooth, expeditious and efficient delivery of goods and services daily thereby facilitating businesses that are critical to the economic recovery of Nigeria.
“Airlines thereby provide jobs for all and sundry. And this means everybody else in the industry is making profit and surviving out of the airlines that are perpetually being undermined and milked dry daily. In the face of all this, airlines still have to pay multiple charges and taxation of all kinds to various government organs and are forced to pay for several inefficiencies and in some cases for services that are not provided, without value for money and with no one coming to their aid.
“This kind of cruel hostility has stifled airlines in the past and is one of the issues responsible for many Nigerian airlines going out of business in the past 20 years, including Triax, Sosoliso, Air Nigeria, Premium Air Shuttle, Gas, Okada, Sahara, Oriental, Chanchangi, Savanah, Harco, Harka, Holtrade, Intercontinental, Skyline, Easylink, Chrome Air, Fresh Air, ADC, EAS, Virgin Nigeria.
“The majority of these phantom debts are owed by airlines that are dead. Only airlines that are in operations can pay debts. If you deny services to the airlines how do you expect them to operate and make money to pay up their bills in the first place? There are better ways of doing things. Instead of forcing the airlines out of business by denying them access to fly or employing crude arm-twisting tactics, the agencies should be working closely with the airlines to reduce costs and make their operations more efficient,” he said.
Meggison said, for instance, to make Accra a hub for aviation in the world, the Ghanaian government recently announced a cut in aviation fuel price by 20 per cent- equivalent of N110.
He said: “Even if both countries are importing aviation fuel, why is Nigeria selling at N200 per litre as against in Ghana at N110?
“But in Nigeria the opposite is the case. Rather than assist domestic airlines to bring down the price of Jet A1 and make it more available, the price has skyrocketed consistently from N105 in March to over N200, thereby significantly raising the cost of operations to unbearable proportions in spite of our constant calls over the years for action in this regard.
“Everyone knows that fuel alone accounts for about 40 per cent of the operational cost of most airlines. And with the continuous increase in the price of Jet A1 amid the scarcity and epileptic supply of the product, the operational costs of domestic airlines have further grown astronomically thereby leading to about 50 per cent flight delays and cancellations of scheduled flights for a day.
“Because of the inefficiencies of the agencies, they have killed several airlines and are trying to stifle the few surviving ones to pay for their inefficiencies.”
He noted that domestic airlines worldwide do not pay enroute charges.
Meggison said: “Why is this so in Nigeria? Also, the total radar coverage and enroute navigation were not in operation in 2001 and airlines were mandated by the NCAA to use Global Positioning System for navigation which was independent of NAMA.
“The economic downturn being experienced in the country will cripple any airline that is expected to pay the already cancelled debts. However, the few surviving AON members are ready to pay their bills.
“Also not surprising, there have been several allegations of financial impropriety involving some staff of the agency to the tune of huge sums of monies in billions of Naira that are being arrested and investigated by the EFCC. It must be stressed that NAMA’s duty is to provide air navigation services. Sadly, NAMA has about 300 air traffic controllers with over 4807 staff.’’
