FG demands tier one airport from UK for Nigerian airlines

Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, said that the Federal Government has written to the United Kingdom to allow Nigerian carriers especially Air Peace operate to at Heathrow Airport.

Speaking at the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) seminar in Lagos on Friday, Keyamo said Nigeria would no longer tolerate a situation where the domestic airlines are not allowed to tier-one airports overseas which is in line with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).

He said failure not to allow Air Peace into Heathrow may lead to Nigeria taking British Airways and other less busy airports.

He stated that in the absence of a national carrier, the government would support local airlines and give them whatever they need to survive and succeed.

“We should have flag carriers who will make us very proud and that will service our reciprocal right and the BASA that we have but they must make sure they raise the global standards and make us proud,” the minister said.

“We are working and collaborating with Nigerian carriers to ensure that they are supported. We have already written to the United Kingdom to give Nigerian carriers, especially Air Peace Heathrow Airport, which is a tier one airport, just as we have British Airways Lagos, our tier one airport. We may as well give BA Ilorin to operate to.”

“When we asked for Heathrow Airport, you’re telling us to go to a slot committee. Who does that? Air Peace I can tell you is on its way to Heathrow away from Gatwick.”

He assured that the government would look into so many agreements it has that are not working in the interest of domestic airlines.

He stressed that domestic airlines need to be supported and must show capacity to reciprocate many of the agreements.

“Air France flies to Nigeria and no Nigerian airline is flying to Paris. Lufthansa, Delta and a host of others but no Nigerian carrier is operating to Frankfurt or the US.

“South African Airline flies to Nigeria and no Nigerian carrier reciprocates. Nigerian carriers are constrained, which is why you have a high mortality rate of airlines in Nigeria. Over 150 Nigerian carriers have been extinct in the last 35 years, which is very disheartening”.