NCAA affirms multiple flight destinations for foreign airlines

By Wole Shadare

EVEN as local airlines groan under the regime of multiple flight designations into Nigeria by foreign carriers, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) insisted yesterday that the status quo would remain in the interest of Nigerians

The Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren said the government was helpless in the matter.
Demuren made the disclosure yesterday at a seminar on “Passengers’ Statement of Rights and Airlines Obligation.”

The NCAA chief explained that many years ago when the Federal Capital Territory was conceptualised,  “we begged British Airways and other foreign airlines to go to Abuja because of the need to service the route”.

He added that the people of South-South, and others from the northern parts of the country had equally clamoured for foreign airlines to be designated to their areas to avoid the huge risk and cost of boarding local airlines to Lagos.

According to him, it would be extremely difficult to put an end to the regime because of the vastness of the country and the need to take travel to the people.

Under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, British Airways operates to Lagos and Abuja with 14 frequencies. Nigeria airlines were also requested, under the pact, to reciprocate.

Until recently when it stopped it Abuja operations to Heathrow, Arik reciprocated with 14 frequencies from Lagos and Abuja to London Heathrow Airport.

Air France-KLM operates to Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt from Amsterdam and Paris.
Ethiopian Airways, Kenya Airways equally operate to Abuja and Lagos from Addis Ababa and Nairobi respectively.

“We are under a lot of pressure to get these foreign airlines to other routes in Nigeria apart from Lagos which should have been a single point entry”

He buttressed his point with a decision taken many years ago by government, which compelled the defunct Nigeria Airways to operate to Kinshasa, Zaire when it was glaring that the airline would operate there empty.

He said the only alternative left for local airlines was for them to have a share of the market.
Nigerian domestic carriers have criticized multiple flight designations into the country by foreign airlines, saying it was impeding their operations.

Although, many of the local airlines have criticized multiple flight designations into the country, some aviation stakeholders said there was nothing wrong in the policy.

However, despite the outcry against the multiple entries and frequencies to the foreign carriers, some aviation stakeholders don’t see nothing wrong in the policy.

But President, Sabre Network Incorporation, West Africa and former Executive Director of Bellview Airline, Gabriel Olowo, in an interview recently said, “Let the capital flight continue for as long as we don’t have ready and willing government and operators to reverse the trend”.