Maureen Ihua-Maduenyi
Aviation analyst and Chief Executive Officer, Centurion Security and Safety Consults, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (retd.) has said that for domestic airlines to overcome growth challenges, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority should increase its financial oversight on the carriers.
Ojikutu told newsmen that it had become necessary for stakeholders to know the actual earnings of the various operators in the aviation sector to be able to know their accurate contribution to the Gross Domestic Product of the country.
He said this would also help the airlines to put in place sound corporate governance, which he noted as being the bane of the airline industry.
Ojikutu said, “The figures being bandied around by people are based on manipulation. There cannot be development and growth if the NCAA cannot enforce part 18 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations.
“This is the economic regulation that will require all operators to submit the balance sheets of their earnings and expenses yearly, to be able to determine their financial health regularly and the sustenance of their operations.”
He explained that it should also not be automatic for any private airline to begin flights into regional, continental or intercontinental routes, adding that movement into any of these levels must be based on the performance at the lower level.
“The NCAA must draw up the performance-based indicators,” he said.
According to Ojikutu, to also sustain domestic airlines’ operations this year and beyond, the government must reduce the incursion of foreign airlines into the country’s domestic routes.
He stated that this would ensure that the domestic airlines benefit from the domestic market.
He said, “No foreign airlines should be allowed to operate to Lagos and Abuja. For them, it must be Lagos or Abuja and any other two or three in the alternative geographical regions.
“The government must ensure that the 22 federal airports are open for domestic operations but are categorised into four groups for the services available and provided.”
Ojikutu added that the service charges for airlines on the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as Nigeria’s prime airports should not be the same as those charged in places such as Port Harcourt and Kano.
He stated that classifying the airport would help drive traffic into those that are dormant.
