The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Arik

  • Public confidence gradually returning to Arik Air- AMCON

    Public confidence gradually returning to Arik Air- AMCON

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) said public confidence was gradually returning to Nigeria’s largest domestic carrier, Arik Air, barely two weeks after it took over the airline.

    AMCON made the claim in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mr Jude Nwauzor, and obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.

    NAN reports that the airline was on Feb. 9 taken over by the Federal Government under the auspices of AMCON as a result of its debt profile of over N300 billion.

    AMCON appointed Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, a veteran aviation expert, to manage the airline under the receivership of Mr Oluseye Opasanya (SAN).

    Nwauzor said the new management were confronted with a barrage of challenges, they had surmounted the problems, adding that they had been stabiliseing airline’s operations with the few aircraft on the fleet.

    AMCON said unlike what obtained before the takeover, average On-Time-Performance (OTP) of Arik Air to different destinations had improved.

    The corporation also claimed that Nigerian banks that hitherto turned their backs to Arik now cooperated and supported the new management.

    According to the spokesman, engagement with international and local creditors has also been successful while discussions with critical service providers and industry stakeholders have yielded the much desired positive results.

    “Arik has also paid the insurance premium, which was on the verge of expiring and ommenced the payment of outstanding salaries, which has greatly boosted staff morale as well as performance.

    ‘’Arik is also in discussion with different creditors and stakeholders to recall a good number of aircraft into the fleet, as soon as possible, which will increase the number of daily flights,” he said.

    The corporation said that a good number of passengers affected by the suspension of flights to some routes had been refunded, adding that efforts were on to reach out to those yet to get their refunds.

    Nwauzor further said that with the positive developments being witnessed in the operations of the airline since its takeover, customers of Arik, especially from the corporate circle, were gradually coming back.

    The corporation further said its efforts in ensuring improved performance within a short period it tookover Arik Air had resulted in stable and professional management of the airline.

    The new management said their efforts at reviving the airline was boosted by the fact that Arik had unparalleled safety record that ‘’speaks for itself in the history of aviation in the country.’’

    AMCON said it had also held series of fruitful engagements and agreements with major suppliers of aviation fuel for regular supplies of the product to Arik to guarantee regular flights. (NAN)

  • Travails of Arumemi-Ikhide and Arik

    Although like most of those featured on these pages in the last seven years, I have never been privileged to meet  Arumemi-Ikhide, but watching from afar, his exploits and travails, I think he is a unique Nigerian who if only for his courage and bold initiatives, deserve our sympathy. More than his personal failings as a manager, an investor and the Arik airlines corporate misgovernance, I strongly believe he is a victim of the Nigerian system and the ‘fantastically’ corrupt federal government of patronage which stifles initiatives and abridges dreams of unique risk-takers like Arumemi-Ikhide.

    First to have survived the stress and the strain associated with the frightening scenarios painted by AMCON while taking over his beleaguered Arik Airlines two weeks back, Arumemi-Ikhide must have been a man with a heart of steel. His airline was said to be indebted to creditors to the tune of staggering N300billion, accused of owing several months in arrears of staff salaries and of defrauding the federal government for years by not remitting the taxes of workers to relevant bodies, his airline was also said to be in perpetual default in its lease payments and insurance, leading to regular and embarrassing repossession of its aircraft by lessors. Above all, his unpaid workers became targets of attack by aggrieved irate local and international passengers.

    If one may ask, how does a man like Arumemi-Ikhide cope with such  stress and strain and still able to sleep at night?

    It will be recalled that this was a risk-taker who was never given a chance from the onset. Many tales were woven around him by many of his detractors who like the faithful servant in Jesus’ parable of the talents( Mathew 2514-30) chose to bury his talents in order to please a master who he acknowledged ‘reaps from where he does not sow’. First, were wild rumours that he was fronting for either ex-President Obasanjo, or ex-Governor Odilli of Rivers or both. Then without evidence, they alleged the airline was established with stolen funds. But Arumemi-Ikhide proved all tale-bearers wrong. When his Arik Airlines  took over the assets of liquidated national carrier in 2006, unlike others in  the aviation industry who diverted government bailouts into other businesses before declaring bankruptcy, or others that embarked on asset stripping after buying government privatized companies under the flawed government  privatization  policy, he braved all the vicissitudes of the airline industry and took delivery of three new Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft to operate on domestic routes, a gamble that enabled the airline capture 55% of Nigeria’s domestic airline market.

    In 2008, his Arik Airline launched its first long-haul flight between Lagos and London Heathrow with an Airbus A340-500, while in June 2009, it commenced flights to its second long haul destination in Johannesburg, South Africa and other West African nations, including Sierra Leone, Senegal, The Gambia, Benin Republic and Ghana. It went on to launch its New York route in 2009 with non-stop flight services three times a week. This was a feat that is yet to be matched by any domestic airline.

    His bold initiative was not only greeted with resentments by his competitors in the industry, the Jonathan government hardly took notice of Arumemi-Ikhide’s unique contribution to a nation without a national carrier whose citizens were left at the mercy of shylock foreign airlines. He was denied of government’s much-needed patronage by ex-President Jonathan and his PDP national wreckers for whom the health of the Nigerian economy was in the number of private jets owned by governors and senators who in one day invaded Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with as many as 11 private jets.

    It was an era of debauchery and licentiousness when Abuja lawmakers who chose not to have shinning private jets routinely grounded foreign airlines that failed to offer them and their families, first class seats.

    Arumemi-Ikhide’s Arik airline did not fare better under the APC notoriously lethargic government of change that spent almost two years without reconstituting various small governments that it needed for governance. The government therefore watched as troubled Arik wobbled until its belated admission two weeks back that government intervention will “stabilise the operations of the airline, enhance its long-term economic value and revitalize its ailing operations as well as sustain safety standards in view of Arik Air’s pivotal role in the Nigerian aviation sector.”

    Two years of inaction by a government of change that held on to the bulk of 10 aircrafts inherited from the previous administration while Arik airlines, the closest to a national carrier wobbled on was indefensible. In fact one may not be far from the truth by saying the Buhari languid government was forced by exigencies of the time to act. The ministers which many believe only act based on the body language of President Buhari, “our baba go slow” suddenly realized it was in the enlightened self-interest of the federal government to take control of Arik airlines. The foreign exchange is simply not available for junketing around. The truth of the matter is that the government and Nigerians today need Arik Airlines more than Arumemi-Ikhide needs Arik. That probably explains why the Federal Ministry of Aviation has undertaken to ‘support the new management of the strategic carrier, and ensure that there would be no undue disruption to Arik’s regular businesses’.

    Weak institutions have been acknowledged as the bane of our society. But the federal government that often exploits these institutions as weapons for political patronage hardly helps matters. It is for instance not enough to accuse  Arumemi-Ikhide of hiring his son, Martins Arumemi-Ikhide on a monthly salary of N30m,  hiring more expatriates, notably Indians than Nigerians, or of dedicating a private jet to fly Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie to Rome at short notice with all expenses borne by Arik Air Ltd. The question was why the regulatory agencies especially the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) which apart from ‘certifying every single technical personnel, equipment and airport’ has  dossier on all the 554 licensed pilots; 913 licensed engineers and 1700 cabin personnel  in the industry outwitted by Arumemi-Ikhide who allegedly populated his organization with expatriates at the detriment of Nigerians.

    Again, the most plausible answer is the federal government that institutionalizes corruption through imposition of ministry of aviation on the aviation industry, a practice long jettisoned by many nations including Ghana our closest neighbour. The position of many aviation experts including Capt. Daniel Omale who recently canvassed for the scrapping of the aviation ministry is strengthened by the fact that most of our past aviation ministers in the last 16 years were found to be men with feet of clay with some of them still in court trying to defend their honour.

    Arumemi-Ikhide’s travails can therefore not be separated from the federal government’s sponsorship of corruption through allocation of resources generated by other federating units to an irrelevant and unproductive federal ministry of aviation.

    In a restructured Nigeria where the federal government is made to face issues of security, foreign relations and external trade while those who generate revenue decide how to spend their revenue, there will be no room for a parasitic insensitive centre to deviate from internationally accepted best practices. Like that of the United Kingdom where ‘the UK Government requires that the CAA’s costs are met entirely from its charges on those whom it regulates’ our own NCAA should be able to run their institutions without depending on federal allocations which ministers in most cases deploy to buy bullet proof cars or convert to personal use along with revenues generated by the regulatory bodies from sundry sources such as advertising.

  • Arik: Too costly to be allowed to fail

    It was Jawaharlal Nehru who once said: “Failure comes only when we forget our ideals and objectives and principles.”

    Year 2016 marked the 10th anniversary of Arik Airline. The airline rose from the ashes of the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways and efforts to create another one in partnership with Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic.

    When Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide saw this vacuum, he thought he could fill it. According to information on Arik’s website, he bought a Hawker jet aircraft. “Colleagues and contacts in the gas and oil industry started using the Hawker jet to fly themselves around Nigeria,” continues the report. “So, another jet was acquired and, before long, a corporate jet business was launched. The next step was to find the right people and the right aircraft to build an airline that would set new standards and change the face of aviation in Africa. Arik Air was born — an airline with whom “Nigeria and the rest of Africa would be proud to fly.”

    The company’s growth was rapid. By the end of 2012, Arik Air had successfully flown over 10 million passengers in less than six years of operation across a network of 41 domestic and international routes. It was operating an average of 120 flights daily from its two hubs at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria. At the peak of its growth, Arik was the darling of many Nigerians. It commanded 55% of the airline load in the country.

    However, it is said that success breeds complacency and complacency often leads to failure.  Soon, the airline’s management took the wrong turn, somehow. And the centre could not hold any longer. Delays in flight departure and outright cancellation soon became the hallmark of the airline. One after the other, all the core values of the airline were gradually compromised; safety and reliability; honesty and integrity; and respect for the dignity of our customers, fellow colleagues and our communities became hollowed and mere rhetoric.

    Last Thursday, the Federal government of Nigeria, through the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), announced a takeover of Arik Air to prevent it going bust.  Akin to the euphemism “too big to fail” that gained currency from the act of government bailout of US and European banks in the years following the subprime loans bust of 2008, Nigeria’s biggest national carrier, Arik Air, is being forced into receivership because it will be too costly to allow it to fail with a whopping N300 billion debt overhang.

    Like other similar interventions by AMCON, especially in the banking sector, this one too is aimed to “instill sanity” in the country’s aviation sector and to prevent a major catastrophe. Before now, AMCON intervened to save Aero Contractors, another airline on the verge of total collapse, with greater relief to the aviation industry. Similar interventions by AMCON in the banking industry have helped brought stability in the financial sector of the country. Since its establishment in 2010 AMCON has acquired about 13,774 Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) worth N3.6 trillion from 22 commercial banks, in the process saving our banking system, while its provision of financial accommodation of N2.2billion protected about N4.7trillion of depositors’ funds and interbank takings as well as saved approximately 14,000 jobs.

    AMCON has, through these interventions in the past, helped a lot of businesses bounce back and hit the path of recovery. In one of his numerous interactions with the media, the Managing Director of AMCON, Ahmed Kuru, underscored the raison d’être of his organization’s interventions thus:  “We don’t want any business to suffer because of their debts. We are not out to kill businesses but to encourage them to grow by following the global best practices in debt reconciliations and settlements. Our desire is to recover the money for the nation through painless processes.”

    Reports have it that the beleaguered airline was indebted to the tune of over N300bn, with AMCON alone owed N135bn; while its obligations to aviation fuel suppliers, insurance firms, aircraft maintenance organizations, the Federal Government and the various aviation agencies, as well as food vendors, made up the balance. This was a clearly precarious situation that pointed to the fast deterioration of the Arik Air services on both its domestic and international routes.

    A BBC reporter in Nigeria, Martin Patience, captured his experience with Arik services in the following words: “To fly Arik often means never getting off the ground. I was at Enugu airport when I was told my flight was cancelled. The man beside me at the check-in desk just shook his head – all his flights had been cancelled for the past two days.

    “Customer service at Arik Air is at times non-existent. When the airline cancels a flight, most of the time its ground staff flee rather than deal with the fallout from irate passengers.”

    “As the company’s troubles mounted at the end of last year, 70% of its international flights were delayed.”

    “The firm’s staff bears the brunt for an airline that even by Nigerian standards is a byword for utter dysfunction. Last month the company was forced to issue a plea for passengers not to attack its employees.”

    This writer, too, has had his own share of this experience. Indeed, hardly will you find a frequent flyer of domestic flights in Nigeria without a bitter and hard-to-forget experience of flying on Arik.

    Nothing explains this recurrent unfortunate experience by Arik customers better than lack of strict adherence to the tenets of corporate governance by its management.  Its poor services became a far cry from the airline’s sublime objective “to operate above and beyond the highest standards of safety and security and to offer a superior level of customer service and to deliver on all promises made to our guests.”

    Early this year the patience of Arik passengers was pushed to its limit. A video that went viral on the Internet on January 5 depicted the customer liaison manager of Arik being assaulted by a group of aggrieved passengers whose flight to Johannesburg was cancelled three times. The management of the airline was quick to blame frequent flight cancellation on aviation fuel shortages in the country. Although that could be true to some extent, there are other failings from the management of the airlines that became noticeable, such as the strikes embarked by its staff or the shutting down of the airline offices throughout the country by a couple of unions that brought untold hardship on its passengers last December.

    Many other serious failings of the management of Arik were reeled out by AMCON in the wake of the takeover of the airline by the corporation. They include, among others, poor corporate governance, demotivated pilots, poor safety measures, which is unacceptable in aviation business and the airline’s inability to meet its financial obligations.

    Arik management may attempt to contest the takeover, as the Deputy Managing Director, Captain Ado Sunusi, is reported to have said, but in the reckoning of stakeholders, the Arik takeover by AMCON is a welcome intervention. As clearly stated, AMCON intervened to afford Arik the opportunity to go back to regular and undisrupted operations, avoid job losses, protect investors and stakeholders’ funds as well as ensure safety and stability in the already challenged aviation sector.

    What can be a better option for Arik than this? In all honesty, can the management of Arik afford its blooming debt burden?  What has become evident is that the Buhari administration has seen positive results in these takeovers by AMCON and has been inclined to encourage it to the delights of Nigerians. Surely, AMCON is in good hands of its Managing Director and his team enjoying his experience and expertise as a thorough-bred banker and risk management guru. I have two pieces of advices to all stakeholders.

    The first is for all stakeholders in this unfolding event to manage their expectations of AMCON’s takeover—we should not expect magical turnaround of Arik in a month or two. The rot in Arik that have seen it plummeting from commanding of 30 aircrafts in its heydays to just nine today cannot be purified in few months’ time.

    The second is for all to put their sentiments aside and cooperate with the new managers and the receivers in their efforts to see to it that Arik navigates out of the current turbulent weather to a steady cruising level that will eventually land it into safer rebirth.

     

    • Hassan contributed this piece from Abuja.
  • Legal battle looms as AMCON names new managers for Arik

    Legal battle looms as AMCON names new managers for Arik

    New managers were yesterday appointed for Arik Air to save the airline from a debilitating financial turbulence.

    The Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) took over the management of Nigeria’s biggest airline.

    But the airline rejected the takeover and vowed to challenge it in court.

    AMCON, according to a statement, appointed Captain Roy Ukpebo Ilegbodu as the managing director and Mr Seyi Opasanya (SAN) as the receiver.

    The takeover, according to AMCON, clearly underscores the government’s decision to instil sanity in the aviation sector and also to preserve Arik as a going concern.

    Security was heavy at the airline’s head office.

    The AMCON statement reads: “From all indications, respite may have come the way of Arik Airlines currently immersed in heavy financial debt burden that is threatening to permanently ground the airline.

    “For some time now, the airline, which carries about 55 per cent  of the load in the country, has been going through difficult times that are attributable to its bad corporate governance, erratic operational challenges, inability to pay staff salaries and heavy debt burden, among other issues, which led to the call for authorities in the country to intervene before Arik goes under like many before it.

     “The move, which clearly underscores government’s decision to instill sanity in the nation’s aviation sector, has also prevented a major catastrophe that would, among other factors, protect and preserve Arik Airlines as a going concern.”

    AMCON said the development would afford Arik, which is the largest local carrier to go back to regular and undisrupted operations, avoid job losses, protect investors and stakeholder funds as well as ensure safety and stability in the already challenged aviation sector.

    The statement reads: “ The airline would now be managed by Capt. Roy Ukpebo Ilegbodu, a veretan aviation expert under the receivership of Mr. Oluseye Opasanya, SAN.”

    Explaining the rationale for the intervention Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Siriki said: “We believe that this appointment is timely and will stabilize the operations of the airline.”

    This, he said, will enhance the long term economic value of Arik Air and revitalise the airline’s ailing operations as well as sustain safety standards, in view of Arik Air’s pivotal role in the Nigerian aviation sector.”

    The Minister, who said the Ministry of Aviation would support the management of the strategic carrier, added that all steps had been taken to ensure that there would be no undue disruption of Arik’s operations or activities of other stakeholders, on account of the changes.

    Capt. Ilegbodu, under the receivership of Opasanya, SAN has also assured the staff of the troubled airline and all other stakeholders that his appointment would, among other objectives, enhance the value of Arik, improve customer experience, and sustain the safety, reliable and secure operational history of the airline.

    “As a matter of fact, Arik Airline has been in a precarious situation largely attributable to its heavy financial debt burden, bad corporate governance, erratic operational challenges and other issues, that require immediate intervention in order to guarantee the continued survival of the Airline.”

    Yesterday, Arik temporarily suspended its flight operations to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, United States, claiming that the two Airbus A330-200 aircraft dedicated to the route had been taken to France for C checks.

    More than eight aircraft are grounded, making it difficult for the airline to make routine commercial flights.

    The statement reads :” The myriad of issues confronting Arik Air of late ranges from confiscation of aircraft due to non-payment of leases, frequent flight delays, constant fracas between Arik staff and irate passengers at both local and international airports etc.

    “During the last Yuletide season, passengers were stranded in airports all over the country due to Arik’s incessant flight delays and cancellations, which negatively affected the preference they enjoy from passengers. You are all living examples of this.

    “The airline is so overwhelmed to the extent that the workers’ wages are not paid for several months, leading to occasional confrontation between the management of Arik and different aviation unions in the country.

    “It was Arik’s inability to pay its workers for seven months that forced the United Labour Congress (ULC) and Engineers Union to recently shut the offices of the airline across the country, causing untold hardship to thousands of travellers and an embarrassment to the aviation sector.

    “Besides owing workers’ salaries, the airline has also not been remitting the taxes of workers to relevant bodies, thus also defrauding the country.

    “The airline is also in perpetual default in its lease payments and insurance premium, leading to regular and embarrassing repossession of its aircraft by Lessors. Various class actions are pending against the airline all over the world.

    “We assure all stakeholders that the intervention is in the best interest of the general public, workers, creditors and other aviation interest groups.”

  • Arik accuses NCAA of ‘bad faith’ over sanction

    Arik accuses NCAA of ‘bad faith’ over sanction

    Arik Air has accused the  Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of acting in bad faith over its decision to impose a N6 million fine on the airline for its alleged  poor handling of passengers’ luggage from London.

    The airline said the official communication  procedure to respond to the alleged infraction has not been fully explored before the regulator went public with its decision.

    In its reaction, Arik Air’s spokesman, Banji Ola, said  NCAA’s action of publicising the letter before the airline had an opportunity to formally respond by the deadline stated in the letter, was  unprofessional.

    He said NCAA had invited the management of the airline to an informal meeting on Friday, December 16 where it explained the circumstances leading to the sequence of events and detailed the efforts it made to recover the luggage.

    Ola said the carrier did everything possible to ensure that the London passengers got their baggage in good time.

    He said: “When the airline’s wide body A330-200 aircraft was damaged by a ground handling truck, it deployed a B737-800 on the London route to minimise the disruption to the passengers. All passengers checking in from London were given a letter informing them of the capacity limitation and weight restriction on the aircraft type, and advised that some of their baggage would be delayed because of this and transported on the next available flight with capacity.

    ”All passengers were accepted on to the flight based on this understanding. However, after arriving Lagos, some of them formed pressure groups and took the laws into their own hands, disrupting the operations of the airline, assaulting the airline’s employees and destroying its property. Some of the airline’s employees were beaten and hospitalised and some of them are still receiving medical treatment as of date.”

    Ola said in order to address the reduction in capacity and backlog of baggage, the carrier leased another wide bodied A340-300 aircraft to complement its B737-800 aircraft to ensure the delayed baggage got back to Lagos in good time, adding that some of the passengers disrupted their operations for several days thereby making it impossible for the aircraft to operate from Lagos and return from London Heathrow before the night curfew, which further prevented the short landed bags from being recovered.

    Ola said that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) security, did nothing to prevent the passengers from disrupting the airline’s operations, or in providing adequate security to the airline and its personnel to enable the flights to leave on time thereby preventing a quicker resolution in the recovery of luggage.

  • Travelling light the Arik way (1)

    Travelling light the Arik way (1)

    There has recently been uproar by passengers of Arik Airlines over delayed luggage on the London-Lagos route, forcing some passengers to wait for over a week for their luggage. Plans have been ruined, financial losses incurred and at least, one case of a wedding disrupted due to undelivered items. Comical as some of the stories coming out of this may be, it is an extremely serious issue of ever-falling standards and exploitation of passengers by airlines. It is also an ongoing violation of aviation rules.
    Unfortunately, the management of Arik has so far shown no real interest in resolving the issue. The National Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and the Consumer Protection Council, CPC, have now waded in and there seems not to be any change still. The urgency of the matter and need for quick and total resolution seems to be lost on the management of Arik and the regulators who issue directives without following up with immediate and effective sanction.
    The roller coaster of absurdities on a recent Arik flight from London began for an acquaintance of mine as soon as he arrived at the Arik Air check-in-desk at the London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 4. He was promptly approached by an Arik representative who handed over a slip of paper informing “esteemed passengers” about an apparent downgrade of the flight to Lagos which meant that they would be flying on a smaller aircraft than usual and as such, some baggage may be left to go with the next flight.
    As my acquaintance would later find out, the previous day, some passengers had refused to fly without their luggage and they formed the bulk of people on the already long queue, as they appeared to be given priority over the fresh batch of passengers. It stands to reason that the “downgrade” could not have happened overnight, which means passengers could have been forewarned. Also curious was the failure of Arik to inform passengers that similar issues had occurred on several scheduled flights many days before and a backlog of luggage was growing. Most passengers were unaware.
    The management of Arik, had, in fact, told an outright lie to its passengers as it became clear that only a handful of passengers from the previous day would be receiving their luggage. This realisation led to a scramble by the passengers to carry as much luggage as possible with them into the cabin, even when the Arik team reiterated the restrictions on carry-on luggage. By the time the passengers had boarded the flight and the crew were preparing for take-off, there was commotion in the cabin. By some magic or incredible oversight by the airline, passengers had somehow smuggled in all manner and sizes of luggage, far above the allowed size and in multiples. The aisle was clogged with scattered luggage unable to fit in the small baggage compartments or the little spaces besides the feet of passengers.
    To add to this, elderly passengers who could barely stand were kept standing for a long stretch of time and were visibly distressed while the commotion continued. Fights broke out amongst passengers tussling over space to keep their ‘hand luggage’ and this led to a delay of at least one hour before the crew successfully pleaded for some of the passengers to let go of their ‘smuggled’ luggage, as the plane was not cleared for safety reason. Even after that, according to the source, the amount and size of luggage retained by the more stubborn of the passengers and the manner they were kept, could not have met aviation safety standards.
    During the flight proper, several passengers, including the source who witnessed all of this, complained of cockroaches and other insects on the flight. Passengers were moved from their seats severally for varying reasons, one of which was the pacification of more than one husband and wife and parents and their children who had been split during the reallocation of seats due to the abrupt change to a smaller aircraft. The food was terrible; the flight attendants were very unprofessional, perhaps, caving under the pressure of having to deal with passengers who were visibly discontented.
    The mood in the cabin throughout the flight was tense and passengers who demanded complaint forms were met with cold treatment by the attendants who grudgingly passed them out. On arrival in Lagos, there was a heated exchange between a particularly frustrated woman and the head of the cabin crew. The remarkable thing about their journey is that most of the passengers were oblivious of the fact that several flights before theirs had gone through a similar experience, leading to a backlog of over 1,000 pieces of luggage, with no plan to clear the backlog apart from daily fitting the ones that could hold unto successive subsequent Lagos-bound flights. In other words, Arik air keeps making its profit while jeopardising the plans of thousands of customers without any meaningful plan to rectify the situation and with no hint of compensation whatsoever.
    One man had not received his luggage at the time he was returning to London, after a failed trip for the same reason of unavailable luggage. Perhaps, part of the problem is the propensity of Nigerians to travel with several pieces of luggage. It appears the airline is focused on profit from excess luggage fees without due consideration for how to get the bags across. This way, passengers who have one piece of luggage are forced to suffer the same fate as people with 20 pieces.
    However, this is not a new occurrence for Arik as this has routinely happened in the past. What makes it different now is that entire flights full of passengers are being transported without their luggage, with no forewarning and no useful information on when to expect their luggage. This is beyond absurd, and the audacity of the management of Arik to continue operating this way, without compensation and with the confrontational attitude of its staff everywhere, all smack of disregard and lack of respect for passengers and the Nigerian aviation industry in general. Already, the customer service lines for travellers to make complaints are nonresponsive and the physically present Arik staff at the various desks across the country only employ deflective tactics when facing enquiries.
    It is clear that Arik has not taken all necessary steps to rectify the situation. One would think that an international airline can find a way to charter or obtain a plane to airlift all outstanding luggage as soon as possible. Passengers continually visit Arik desks and make frantic calls at their personal expense, often meeting resistance. The airline should instead have a plan worked out to fly in the luggage. The said plan should be able to organise the order in which the bags come and regular updates about the situation should be provided directly to the passengers from Arik, detailing when and where to pick up their luggage, thereby saving time and expense wasted visiting the airport almost daily and being disappointed.
    On the part of the regulators, instead of directives and ultimatums at this time, brisk sanctions ought to be imposed as Arik is already in violation of many aviation rules. The delayed involvement of the authorities says a lot about their efficiency and explains why Arik has not done more. Beyond the present issue, there is a track record of shabby handling and poor service that the CPC ought to have addressed before now. Had the NCAA always followed directives with costly penalties, perhaps, Arik would have behaved differently on this occasion.
    As it is, it appears Arik is merely capitalising on the seeming indifference of Nigerians to sub-standard and mediocre service. Only strict monitoring through frequent and unannounced checks for standards will incentivise our local airlines and international operators to stand up to their responsibilities to their passengers. This nightmare for passengers could have been avoided had the authorities done a better job of regulating practices and maintaining standards in the aviation industry. Surely now, enough is enough!

  • Arik resumes flight operations

    Arik resumes flight operations

    Twenty four hours after thousands of passengers were stranded at airports nationwide, Arik Air yesterday resumed scheduled flight operations, its spokesman, Adebanji Ola, said in a statement.

    He said the resumption of flights is a fall out of approval the airline got on aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal .

    ” Arik  Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline, is pleased to announce that after a temporary disruption of flights on Tuesday, 13 September pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal, it’s scheduled flights  resumed as normal operations resumed from 11 am  Wednesday September 14, 2016.

    “The company expresses its deepest regrets at the unfortunate inconvenience caused to its customers and requests that all booked passengers contact the airline  through its ticket offices for rescheduling of their flights.”

    A source hinted that check in activities took place at the domestic and international wings of the Lagos Airport.

  • Alleged N12.5b debt: Arik, FAAN, NAMA get two weeks ultimatum

    Alleged N12.5b debt: Arik, FAAN, NAMA get two weeks ultimatum

    •Arik: we have paid over N18.9b

    • NCAA warns airlines over debts

    The Federal Government has given the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and Arik Air two weeks to resolve all issues relating to the alleged N12.5billion debt.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika also urged concerned parties to report to him after two weeks with clear figures of how much is owed and payment plans.

    The order was given in Abuja by the Minister during a meeting with the management of Arik Air, according to a statement endorsed by the Deputy Director of Press of the ministry, James Odaudu.

    The Union had grounded the operation of the Arik Air over alleged 12.5 billion debts the airline owed FAAN.

    The minister said: “The issue of alleged indebtedness by Arik Air which has led to disagreement with some trade unions within the regulatory agencies is highly regrettable.

    “The government will not condone lawlessness within the industry. All airline operators must conform to industry rules and regulations which includes payment of applicable fees and fines as at when due.”

    The minister noted that the well-being of an airline is measured by its ability to pay for services rendered to it.

    “The goal of the present government is to develop an aviation industry that is founded on the principles of safety and security of not only the regulators and airline operators, but also passengers and their luggage, while also putting in place polices that would encourage the growth of domestic airlines.

    “While I will go beyond my limits to ensure that domestic airlines are encouraged to grow and promoted to compete favourably with their foreign counterparts, I will not subvert applicable rules and regulations in favour of any,” Sirika said.

    Earlier, the Chairman of Arik Air, Arumeni Johnson decried the impunity with which trade unions operating at the airports disrupted the operations of the airline under the guise of its indebtedness to their organisations.

    Airk Air chief further explained that such practices, if not stopped by the authorities, was capable of running down the aviation industry.

    Describing his airline as a responsible corporate citizen, he stated that the airline does not deserve the shabby treatment demonstrated by the unions at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

    “Is it now the duty of the union to seek payment of money owed aviation agencies? The union has clearly gone beyond its mandate and we implore the Minister to intervene,” Arumeni tsaid.

    Meanwhile, Arik Air yesterday said it has paid the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over N18.9 billion as airport charges from 2006 till date.

    Its Managing Director, Mr Chris Ndulue yesterday described the disruption of its operation by FAAN workers and union members as violation of legal attempts to reconcile figures between the  authority and the airline.

    Ndulue said out of the N18.9 billion paid by the airline into FAAN account the, authority acknowledged N14.4  billion.

    He said  it  is startling that FAAN could not account for the outstanding N7.5  billion that mysteriously disappeared from its account.

    Also yesterday, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) directed all airlines  operating in the country to forward unremitted funds accruable to the Authority without further delay.

    This directive was given during a meeting in Lagos with the operators on non-remittance of five per cent ticket, cargo and charter sales charges.

    Its Director-General, Capt Muhtar Usman who presided over the meeting said the directive is with regards to the five per cent  TSA/TCA collected at source from the air passengers by the airlines on behalf of the Federal Government.

    He said the charges were designed to enable all aviation agencies carry out their responsibilities of providing safe, secure and efficient regulatory  services for the overall benefits of all aviation stakeholders.

  • Alleged N12.5b debt: Passengers stranded as unions disrupt Arik Air’s operations

    Alleged N12.5b debt: Passengers stranded as unions disrupt Arik Air’s operations

    Hundreds of Arik Air’s passengers were stranded yesterday at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, following the grounding of its operations by aviation unions.

    The unions took the action over alleged N12.5 billion debt the airline owed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

    The workers, under the aegis of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and National Union of Pensioners (NUP), stormed the airport at 6:30am and barricaded the airline’s working areas.

    Some of the protesters carried placards, such as: “Arik Pay Your N12.5 billion Debt!”; “FAAN can no longer pay salaries, pension, staff claims due to your debt” and “Arik, if you can’t pay, don’t fly”.

    Most passengers interviewed decried the inability of the airline’s management to brief them ahead of the crisis.

    They said they only got to the airport and were confronted by the protesting workers.

    Security personnel from the police, Murtala Muhammed Airport Command prevailed on the workers.

    One of the passengers said he was disappointed because he never knew he would be stranded at the airport.

    The passenger, who refused to mention his name, said he was scheduled to travel  to Port Harcourt at 11 am.

    He said: “Nobody has said a word, not even from the management of the airline or ticket officers. This has been their nature. At least, they should have sent a text last night so that we can be abreast of the situation.

    “I had to buy another ticket from Medview Airline at N40,200 and for those who cannot afford it, what do you expect them to do?”

    On the picketing, NUATE’s Vice Chairman Comrade Idowu Adesola said the picketing was informed by the refusal of Arik Airline to pay N12.5 billion debt owed to FAAN.

    Adesola said Arik would only be allowed to operate, if the airline paid N7 billion, with a promise that it would pay the balance on a fixed date.

    NUATE’s  General Secretary Olayinka Abioye said the union would continue to picket the airline until it pays.

    He said: “The union decided to ground the airline’s operations after years of negotiations on the airline’s indebtedness to the agencies.

    “We observe that the airline is feigning ignorance of its debt while refusing to pay.”

    Arik’s Communications Manager Mr. Ola Adebanji, in a statement yesterday, confirmed the disruption of its operations by the union.

    The statement said the airline’s workers were prevented from entering their duty posts, thereby disrupting the day’s operations.

    “The action by the workers’ union is connected with the long-standing and unsubstantiated claim by FAAN of spurious indebtedness of the airline to the agency.

    “The matter is now before a Federal High Court in Lagos at the instance of FAAN.

    “For several months, the management of Arik Air and FAAN have been meeting to reconcile payment accounts.

    “The reconciliation process is still on until the latest action by the union.

    “This is not the first time that FAAN workers’ union will be taking the laws into their hands by disrupting operations of Arik Air,” it said.

    The statement added that the airline’s management had been compelled to suspend domestic operations for the day.

    According to the statement, this would remain until the situation is resolved.

  • Arik Air denies increasing fares

    Arik Air denies increasing fares

    Arik Air on Friday denied allegations that it had increased fares on its London Heathrow, New York JFK and Johannesburg routes.

    The denial is contained in a statement signed by Arik’s Communications Manager, Mr Ola Adebanji, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    It reads:” We wish to make it clear that we have not increased fares on any of our routes (international, regional or domestic) in the recent past.

    “Also, we charge our fares in naira at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official rate.”

    It therefore advised intending travellers to book their tickets online at www.arikair.com, Arik Air airport and city ticketing offices or through the International Air Transport Association (IATA) registered travel agents.