By Chinelo Obogo
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has promised that the Federal Government will drive policies that will help domestic operators but urged local airlines to do their part by renewing their fleet to boost passengers’ comfort.
During a visit of the Air Operators of Nigeria (AON) led by its chairman, Abdulmunaf Yunusa, to his office recently, the minister urged domestic airline operators to entrench cooperation among each other in order to boost their capital base and improve their services.
A statement by the Head, Publicity and Media of the ministry, Mr. Oluseyi Odutayo, said the government was ready to support the growth of the local airline operators because they are critical to the development of the aviation industry. The minister said that that the government may review the existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) arrangements with foreign countries while promising to suggest to government the possibilities of airlines accessing facilities at single digits, including associated foreign exchange to meet their foreign obligations.
“I don’t want to operate as a ghost, I said one of my strategies is to operate an open door policy. I said, bring up your challenges so that Nigerians would understand exactly where government and Airlines operators stand,” he said.
Daily Sun had earlier reported how the AON had urged the Federal Government to carry out sweeping reforms in the aviation sector including the cancellation of eight and ninth ‘freedom of free’ flights by foreign airlines into Nigeria among others.
During a meeting with Keyamo, the AON made a presentation, outlining the challenges in the sector and proffering solutions to them. Capt. Roland Iyayi, who made the presentation on behalf of the body said that unavailability of foreign exchange, scarcity of jet-A1 fuel, inadequate infrastructure, cost of capital and funding options, government policies, multiple taxes, fees and charges, lack of local aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility, cabotage operations by foreign airlines were some of the challenges facing the industry.