Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has lamented the high rate of collapse of airlines in the country’s aviation sector, saying over 100 airlines went under in the last 40 years.
He, however, assured that the current administration was working to end the high mortality rate of the airlines.
Keyamo who gave the assurance in an address at the 10th anniversary of West Africa’s largest airline and Nigerian flag carrier, Air Peace in Lagos, at the weekend, expressed excitement that the airline had survived its first ten years and was still thriving.
“If you look at the history of airlines in Nigeria, you will discover that it is difficult for them to survive 10 years and still look healthy. We have a history of great mortality of airlines.
“More than a hundred airlines have gone in the last 40 years and I know you all remember. From Concord to Zenith to Bellview, among others. You will then ask yourself why they die off, I can keep mentioning them because I have their list with me,” he stated.
According to the minister, when the current administration came into office, “we said there must be something responsible for this high mortality rate and now we have Air Peace looking strong and has continued to be on the rise and not on the decline.”
Keyamo further noted that the “situation is worrisome. Let me tell you why it is a thing of worry. A recent study by Boeing says that Nigeria accounts for 80 per cent of domestic travel in the whole of Africa. Not West Africa, not Central Africa, but the whole of Africa.
“The busiest route in the whole of Africa is the Lagos-Abuja route; that is, in the entire Africa. I think it is followed by Johannesburg-Cape Town. But Nigeria is number one in terms of domestic travel.
“We have the population, we have the traffic, we have the people. So, it is surprising that if we have this traffic, why are the airlines not surviving? Ask yourself. Why are they not surviving? And together, since we assumed office, I have sat down with operators to solve this problem and I listen to them.”
The minister said it was reassuring that Air Peace had defied the high mortality phenomenon, which happens to airlines with their first five to 10 years of operation, “indicating that it will be a great carrier of the future.”
Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, in a remark, described the airline as a product of deep thinking and the desire to positively impact the country by creating jobs for the teaming Nigerian youths and not primarily to make profits.
“Like most businesses, profit is an important motive; however, with Air Peace, profit was not the primary driving force behind its establishment,” he stated.
