The airlines, in separate interviews with newsmen warned
travellers to brace for a higher fare regime as economic indicators show that
the problems are not likely to abate soon.
From N28, 000 for a one-hour flight after the high season in
December 2020, the average cost of a one-hour ticket has now risen to N60, 000
for a one-way ticket and could rise as high as N120, 000 if a passenger buys a
ticket on the day he is travelling.
The airlines attributed the soaring airfares to dollar
scarcity, which has forced them to resort to the parallel market for the
greenback.
They appealed for the intervention of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) to create special forex window for aviation.
They also attributed the hike in fare to the fact that many
aircraft that were taken out of the country for maintenance were yet to be
brought back because of the pandemic, which has hindered activities in some
countries.
Owing to this, Nigerian carriers have a limited fleet but
high demand for air travel, as insecurity continues to discourage many people
from travelling by road.
The Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace, Mrs. Toyin
Olajide, told newsmen that airfares are high because of forex scarcity.
“Airfares are high because of forex and we buy dollars from
the parallel market. When you look at the prices of tickets, they don’t reflect
the actual cost of operation. If they do, they will be higher than what we sell
tickets now, but competition has kept the fares relatively low.
“We need dollars for most of the things we do in aviation.
We buy spares in dollars and we source dollar at N500 per dollar. Just imagine
the cost if you want to import an aircraft engine. So the high cost of fares is
because of forex,” she explained.
She added that currently, there is limited capacity because
airlines are operating fewer aircraft in their fleet.
According to her, Air Peace has most of its aircraft
overseas where they were ferried for maintenance but they got stuck because of
COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
She said most maintenance facilities overseas engaged in
skeletal operations due to the lockdown, which delayed the completion of the
maintenance of many aircraft to enable them to return to Nigeria for service.
“Our aircraft that were ferried for maintenance overseas
have not returned due to the lockdown. The maintenance facilities cannot meet
delivery time. Few people are allowed to work on the aircraft and because of
the lockdown, so many things are not working the way they should.
“For example, we have some of the aircraft in Israel, if you
order spares from another country, it takes time before it will be delivered
because immigration services may not be working in some countries; some
companies may not even be operating optimally. So these are some of the
challenges that we have,” Olajide said.
She stated that about 21 of Air Peace aircraft are under
maintenance or due for maintenance, adding that the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA) calculates aircraft maintenance date by calendar months, so
anyone that operated for 18 months is grounded and readied for maintenance.
“We have 21 aeroplanes that are under maintenance or due for
maintenance but we have not got a slot for those due for maintenance in
facilities overseas. They have to push out the ones that have completed their
checks before they will take in more. So the aircraft have to queue and wait,”
she said.
Olajide, however, said the good news was that the brand new
Air Peace aircraft, Embraer E195-E2 would soon start operation, as NCAA is
about to complete its certification on them.
“We already have two of the aircraft in Nigeria and three
are due to arrive this May. NCAA is at the stage of the demonstration flight,
which will take about one week. So we will have five of the new aircraft
operating from this month. But for the other aircraft, what is affecting us is
the maintenance calendar and the fact that those aircraft taken for maintenance
are yet to return,” she added.
A former CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, also
told newsmen that high demand triggered the increase in airfares.
“Also there is no capacity. For example, Azman Air that was
grounded by NCAA has three aircraft. That number is off from the system until
they resume operations.
Airlines are also taking advantage of the demand because I
cannot understand why an economy ticket was selling for N74, 000 from Abuja to
Kano, one way, which is less than one hour flight. There is a lot of demand for
air travel because of security challenges on the roads; airlines are taking
advantage of that,” Sanusi said.
But the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain
Mahmoud Abdullahi, told newsmen that high fares are caused by scarcity of
foreign exchange so airlines are finding it difficult to access dollars so they
buy from the parallel market.
“Airlines are finding it difficult to source dollars, so
they are buying it from the bureau de change. If we are getting it from CBN, it
will be better. Then there is this issue with aviation fuel, in which prices
change every day. It keeps on going up. For airlines, everything is dominated by
dollars. CBN should give airlines a special window to access forex. The fares
are increasing but there is a limit to what the passengers can afford,”
Abdullahi stated.
The General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr. Sam
Adurogboye, however, said the maintenance calendar of 18 months for C-check
couldn’t be changed because that is what is in the regulation, so it is the
law.
But he said if the airlines wanted to review it, they should
submit a proposal to the regulation committee to consider.
“Whatever we do is based on the law. We have standing
regulation that is followed to do these things. We also have a standing
regulation committee. So airlines under Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) or
as individuals can submit a proposal, requesting for the review of that
regulation. But for now, we have to follow the law as it is and it stipulates
18 months for C-check and we cannot change that,” he explained
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