Mixed fortunes as foreign airlines expand Nigerian footprint

As foreign airlines expand their footprint in Nigeria following the Federal Government’s approval of more designations for them, industry stakeholders say local carriers may no longer need to airlift passengers from and into routes that are now being operated by the foreign airlines.

They say while the development poses a threat to local airlines, it is a good deal for passengers, who may no longer need to travel to Lagos or Abuja to catch an international flight.

Before now, most foreign airlines land and take off from just Lagos and few others from Lagos and Abuja, but foreign carriers are now expanding their footprint to Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu, creating more choices and reducing costs for passengers.

“Passengers would definitely benefit from the Federal Government’s multiple designations granted to foreign airlines. On the other hand, local airlines feel this will hugely impact their operations. However, the foreign carriers have discovered that new businesses are springing up in these local routes and this is driving domestic traffic,” Tayo Ojuri, managing partner at Aglow Aviation Support Services Limited, said.

Ojuri, however, suggested that local airlines could partner with foreign carriers to provide small aircraft that would help airlift passengers from various states to where they can catch an international flight.

“All the passengers that travel from Kano are not from Kano. Some of these passengers are from Kaduna, Katsina, Borno and Kebbi, among others. Also, passengers that are processed for travel in Enugu are not all from Enugu. Some are from neighbouring states. So, local carriers can strategise by providing small aircraft to feed the international airlines on these routes,” he said.

Ethiopian Airlines operates into Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Kano and Port Harcourt airports.

British Airways enjoys frequencies to Nigeria, with landings in Lagos and Abuja; Emirates operates into Lagos and Abuja airports; and Lufthansa operates into Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt airports.

The latest addition to the Federal Government’s approval for multiple entries is Qatar Airways.

In addition to Lagos and Abuja airports, the Federal Government recently granted Qatar entry into the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa.

Royal Air Maroc, the Northern African carrier, is planning to expand operations beyond Lagos.

Stakeholders have, however, criticised the government for granting these airlines multiple designations but the government said the designations were granted on the basis of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) Nigeria has with these countries.

BASA, founded on the principle of reciprocity, is a deal that enables a country’s airlines to enjoy equal leverage in terms of flight operations in countries with which their home country has an air agreement.

But experts have argued that Nigerian airlines do not have the capacity to reciprocate traffic.

John Ojikutu, an aviation security consultant and secretary-general of Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative, said local airlines would not profit from assigning more than two airports in Nigeria to foreign airlines.

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Ojikutu said that rather than give one foreign airline multiple destinations, it should either be Lagos or Abuja airport, and not Lagos and Abuja, and any other among Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu (outside the geographical area of the first choice of Lagos and Abuja) to any foreign airline.

“Giving foreign airlines more than two airports in Nigeria is to expose them into the domestic routes and therefore into the domestic markets of the domestic airlines. For me, it is either Lagos or Abuja and not Lagos and Abuja and any other among PH, Kano and Enugu (outside the geographical area of the first choice of Lagos and Abuja) to any foreign airline,” Ojikutu said.

Yunusa Abdulmunaf, president of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), lamented that billions of naira were being lost annually to multiple designations granted the foreign carriers.

He warned that if the policy continued, the domestic airlines would die, while the foreign airlines would eventually take over the domestic market.

According to him, the multiple designations is one of the greatest disservices to the Nigerian economy and its people.

The AON president said, “All the foreign airlines that come into Nigeria, every day, the central bank governor cries about the amount of money being repatriated abroad.

“We are talking about the scarcity of foreign exchange in the country, but the foreign airlines are removing billions of dollars every year from this country, and airlines in Nigerians have been hassled with lots of requests on how to repatriate dollars into the system. Where am I going to get it from?”

Gabriel Olowo, president of Aviation Round Table, said: “The damage of multiple entries into Nigeria is huge. Britain, for instance, has 21 flights into Nigeria weekly. The European Union has 43 frequencies every week into Nigeria. Also, the Middle East has 56 flights weekly into multiple entries into Nigeria.

“As it is today, we have zero participation in the international sector as an industry, and the domestic sector is eroded through multiple entries into Nigeria,” he said.