By Shola Adekola, Lagos Tribune.com.ng
The Federal Government has vowed not to back down on the ongoing fight between it and the two British carriers: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways, over the regional fare imbalance on the Nigerian routes.
Making the position known on Wednesday was the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, at a stakeholders’ meeting on the proposed passengers’ rights at the Lagos airport.
Demuren insisted that NCAA would not allow Nigerian travellers to be shortchanged any longer by any international carrier, adding that any form of collusion by international carriers would be prevented by the regulatory body.
He frowned on a situation whereby Nigerian travellers first travelled to Ghana to board flights to Europe because of regional fare imbalance, adding that the current battle was for all Nigerians.
“Nigeria will not be short-changed, we will pursue this to the end. Collusion of exploitation of Nigerians must stop, but exploration is encouraged. It is unfortunate that Nigerians now go to Ghana to fly to United Kingdom because of the regional fare imbalance. They discovered that they can spend the same money for a business ticket in Nigeria for two business class tickets in Ghana.
“We won’t allow this because we have the market advantage in the continent and one of the highest in the world. This is a battle and we stand by it. Anti-competitive practices must stop,” he said.
Also, in a bid to ensure safety in the country’s airspace, NCAA had commenced economic regulations of aviation activities, to protect passengers.
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