Govt to withdraw unused routes from airlines

 All unutilised regional, domestic and international routes by any airline for two years will be re-allocated to Nigerian carriers that are willing to service the routes, according to the Federal Government.


The implication is that no airline or airlines now have the right to reserve routes for themselves perpetually for “two International Air Transport Association (IATA) seasons.”

This is coming as the government plans to facilitate the establishment of a “Single/seamless African Sky” concept countrywide with a well-co-ordinated Air Traffic Management System (ATMS).

The planned “Single African sky” would be a replica of the “Single European Sky”, a European Commission initiative by which the design, management and regulation of airspace are co-ordinated throughout the European Union (EU).

The objective is to provide a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic within its airspace and to co-operate with the aeronautical authorities of adjacent airspaces to co-ordinate the flow of air traffic.

The major challenge facing Nigeria in the provision of these services, according to the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi and air safety management experts is insufficient funds to implement the CNS/ATM System and maintenance of existing facilities.

This underscores the fact that not all is well with air traffic management in Nigeria as experts condemned poor communication in the nation’s airspace.

According to them, various co-operative initiatives have been made to ensure that air navigational services in the country meet international standards.

These are contained in the new 2013 National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) unveiled in Abuja last weekend.

Giving the reason for the review, Oduah-Ogiemwonyi stated that the policy review clearly showed that government’s vision for a dynamic, self-sustaining air transport system was achievable.

She also noted that it was evident from the review that the Nigerian aviation sector should be structured to enable it drive economic growth in Nigeria while remaining globally competitive.

According to the new policy, “Capacity unutilised by an airline for two scheduling periods (two IATA seasons) will be allocated to another Nigerian airline desirous of utilising it unless the airline is in a force majeure situation.”

There are many dormant routes that Nigerian carriers are not reciprocating due to lack of capacity to compete with foreign carriers like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Delta, Ethiopian Airways, Kenya Airways, United, Air France and Qatar.

The lack of competition makes these foreign airlines to engage in extra frequencies while Nigeria gets royalties for the extra flights done by these airlines.

The lack of encouragement from Nigerian carriers to reciprocate the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) makes the Ministry of Aviation find it extremely difficult to turn down the requests of foreign airlines for more flight rights.

Arik Air is the only airline that seems to be making a headway on the foreign scene, but lacks the capacity to go to many other destinations like Dubai, Paris, Frankfurt, Addis Ababa, aside from London, Johannesburg and New York in which it operates.



http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121020:govt-to-withdraw-unused-routes-from-airlines Culled from The Guardian