August 31,2022

Nigeria Air, a national project in the aviation sector in the country has been aborted for the fifth time after 14.6 billion naira was spent by the Federal Government in four years.

In the country’s bid to float the new national carrier, it appears to have entered the wrong time zone, with credible investors and technical partners allegedly reluctant to warm up to the project

The development, following the completion of the bid process, is another drawback for the July 2022 take-off, as well as nurturing the airline to stability before the end of this administration. It was the fifth time the national project

The setback may have been with the state of the global economy, local peculiarities, including political uncertainties in an election year, and the project setup that has already gulped over N14.6 billion from a government that has only five per stake in the airline

Industry stakeholders are far from being impressed with the ongoing ‘hawking’ of a new airline and other elements of the aviation development roadmap that was launched in 2016. None of the five elements has been delivered within nine months to the end of the administration.

Though the project consultants are optimistic about the new carrier, others demand attention shift to pressing existential issues that are threatening the entire sector.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had, during the 2015 electioneering campaign, promised to float a new national carrier as a replacement for Nigeria Airways which was hurriedly liquidated in 2004

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, 2016, rolled out an Aviation Roadmap development agenda for the transformation of the sector. The plan had as a priority, the new national carrier, the concession of all the airports for efficiency, aircraft leasing companies, maintenance facilities and the development of the metropolis

Kenya Airways, last week, reported a loss of $82.4 million for the first half of 2022. The airline recorded a $95.8 million loss for the same period in 2021. It was the ninth consecutive half-year loss for the airline that had routinely depended on state bailouts.

Lead consultant on the project, Prof. Tilmann Gabriel of African Aviation & Aerospace University, however, told Arabian Aerospace that the Nigeria Air project has a bright prospect and the minister was pushing to develop the aviation sector.

Gabriel said the small initial fleet means that the airline would operate domestically for the moment. It will be based at Abuja Airport and its initial route will be Abuja-Lagos, linking the country’s two most important cities

The new owners, I would imagine, would want to expand the domestic operation, get an International Air Transport Association (IATA) operational safety audit (IOSA) added, and then international flying could get started in year two or three,” Gabriel said.

The aim is to grow the airline slowly and steadily, said Gabriel. “It’s a very clear business case that’s built on facts and reality. You can’t start international flying unless you have domestic connections, an IOSA audit, and all the credibility. To go to Europe, you have to go to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and get approval.”

Gabriel assumed there would also be some nervousness among existing Nigerian airlines because the ‘new flag-carrier would have a lot of support domestically, as well as internationally from its strategic partners.

“The fact that it would have a business plan, good governance and a long-term outlook were likely to increase that nervousness. Nigerians would like to see domestic and regional airlines that are punctual and reliable, are bookable by apps or websites, and offer tickets payable online by credit cards,” Gabriel said.

President of ASRTI, Gbenga Olowo, had said the idea of the government owning a stake in the carrier is discriminatory to other local airlines and would be inimical to free competition. Olowo said the alternative should be replicating equal commitments to all other airlines

I think the government’s five per cent equity in Nigeria Air should be done for all 22 private Nigerian airlines on the ground, to level the playing field. If the government will be fair, it should give equal support to all; concessions for concessions, tax relief for tax relief, the same exchange rate for all, overflight charges, slot, terminal allocation, and so on, should happen to all equally.

“The right nomenclature should be flag carriers, not a national airline. Or, have the airlines come together under mutually beneficial codeshare/block seat agreement to build a united, strong mega carrier. That is, using the Nigeria Air project as the consolidator of all,” he said.

Olowo, who is the President of Sabre Network in Nigeria and West Africa, added that the idea of leased aircraft was unbefitting for Nigeria which has multiple bigger airlines, and about two in the care of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) – a Federal Government’s debt recovery vehicle.

He said: “A national carrier startup with three wet-leased aircraft and no single Nigerian crew onboard is undeserving for the country. There are bigger operators like Arik and Aero that are already in government portfolios and lying-in-state Why not add the three wet-leased aircraft to their fleets as a stopgap, rebrand them Nigeria Air, and subsequently offer it to the public?” he queried