Group condemns recent increase of charges by aviation ground handling companies

The Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI/ART) has registered its dismay at what it describes as ‘the arbitrary increment’ of fees by aviation handling companies.

In a statement by Albinus Chiedu, Publicity Secretary, ART, the group condemned the imposition of “outrageously high handling fees coming at a time the ART and other stakeholders are advocating government’s intervention and deliberate policies to reduce airlines’ operating cost to obtain a downward review of the cost of air tickets and the survival of Nigerian airlines.”

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According to ART, the purported astronomical increase negates the spirit of taming inflation in the aviation sector and it is capable of further reducing the volume of patronage by the travelling public and can compromise safety in the sector.

“The ART hereby urges an immediate reversal of the increment and a conciliatory tripartite meeting of the handling companies, the airlines and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) during which acceptable charges will be attained,” it added.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.