Operating costs of Nigeria’s domestic airlines rose by at least 300 per cent over a period of two years.
This is according to the Chief Operating Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, Mr Osita Okonkwo.
He made this known during an interview with the media in Lagos.
Citing instances, he pointed out that when the airline commenced flight operations in 2021, a litre of Jet A1 (aviation fuel) was sold at N200 per litre, but regretted that the price had risen to N800 per litre in the local market, adding that small-body aircraft like Embraer, CRJ, ATR, and Dash-8 aircraft require about 1,300 litres of aviation for an hour flight while middle-body aeroplanes like Airbus 319, 320, MD 83, and Boeing 737 require at least 3,000 litres for the same hour of flight.
Okonkwo further stated that at the rate of N800 per litre, the small body aircraft require N1,040,000 for an hour flight while the middle body aircraft N3,900,000 for the same journey, in addition to different charges and levies paid to government agencies like the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN0, all of which further add to the operating costs.
“Also, we don’t have access to foreign exchange. Forex is not available. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) only gives about 20 to 30 per cent of your needs. You have to queue, yet have it on the move. Operating costs are escalating at a very high rate.
“There is a need for government intervention funds for operators. Governments all over the world are doing that. This is not too much for Nigeria to do for its own operators in the country.
“There is a need for government’s intervention in airlines in Nigeria. The United States and the United Kingdom have done that especially when there are big issues. That is not asking for too much. They have intervened in some companies and given forex to some companies, they should extend the same to the airlines in Nigeria,” Okonkwo added.
He said government intervention was necessary to save the industry from collapse as airfares were being underwritten from other sources by most of the operators.
Okonkwo also stated that the current low fares by airlines are not sustainable with the current situation of skyrocketing prices of aviation fuel and scarcity of foreign exchange, while dismissing claims that the airlines fixed prices of airfares.
