Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, has hinted that the controversial national carrier, Nigeria Air, will commence operation before the swearing-in of a new administration on 29 May.
The minister disclosed this at the ongoing National Aviation
Stakeholders Forum 2023 in Abuja on Thursday.
“Operation of local and international flights will commence
soon. Before the end of this administration, before May 29, we will fly,” Mr
Sirika said.
“Negotiation meetings with the Ethiopian Airlines Group
Consortium and the Federal Government of Nigeria is ongoing. Next step: Federal
Executive Council approval of the Full Business Case.”
The minister emphasised that the benefits Nigeria stands to
derive from the establishment of the national carrier include reduced capital
flight from Nigeria, maximisation of the benefit of Bilateral Aviation Safety
Agreement (BASA) and Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and development
of an aviation hub.
Also, Mr Sirika said the National carrier will contribute to
the country’s GDP, facilitate hospitality and tourism, facilitate growth and
development of the Nigerian agricultural sector, and create jobs around the
Agro-Cargo Terminals.
Lingering concerns
Many Nigerians have criticised the Muhammadu Buhari
administration for seeking to start a new national carrier after the former
national carrier, Nigeria Airways, collapsed largely due to corruption.
The government, which has less than two months in office,
has, however, said the new carrier would only be partly government-owned and
would be managed by a private partner.
However, some local airlines in Nigeria have sued the
federal government, asking the court to stop the new national carrier as it
would get unfair advantages over other airlines in the country.
In November last year, a Federal High Court in Lagos issued
an order of interim injunction restraining the Nigerian government from
proceeding with the establishment of the national carrier.
In February, Mr Sirika said he was not aware of any court
injunction barring the commencement of Nigeria Air and that it would commence
operations soon.
Meanwhile, in recent months, Nigeria’s foreign exchange
crisis has worsened amidst depletion of its foreign reserves.
This has significantly impacted the aviation sector. While
foreign airlines are experiencing difficulty repatriating their trapped funds,
domestic and international airlines are also faced with skyrocketing aviation
fuel prices.
Two weeks ago, the International Air Transport Association
(IATA), the top global trade association of airlines, appealed to the Nigerian
government to allow international airlines to repatriate their funds trapped in
the country.
It said the amount airlines have been unable to repatriate
from the country rose to $743.7 million in January from $662 million it stood
last December.
National Carrier
Nigeria Air, the nation’s proposed national carrier, was
unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show in England on 18 July 2018.
The project was suspended two months after it was announced
as critics raised concerns over its relevance and sustainability.
The proposed airline was expected to gulp $8.8 million in
preliminary cost and $300 million as take-off cost.
The national carrier idea was raised many years after
Nigeria’s defunct carrier, Nigeria Airways, collapsed due to corruption and
poor management.
Last July, the Federal Executive Council approved the
leasing of three aircraft to enable the airline to commence operations.
In September last year, Mr Sirika said at a press briefing
in Abuja that Ethiopian Airlines emerged as a core investor in Nigeria Air with
a 49 per cent shareholding. This led to the suit filed by local airline
operators in the country, who are saying that they can manage Nigerian air
better than a foreign airline.
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