Four months to the announced date by the Federal Government that a national carrier, Nigeria Air, would commence operations, BusinessDay’s checks show that there are no personnel, investor and physical or technical structure on ground currently to make this a reality.
Before an airline is considered ready to commence operations, the airline must have gone through the five different stages of acquiring Air Operating Certificates (AOC) for local flight operations from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and these stages take between one to three years, depending on how satisfied the authority is.
In addition, the airline must have readied its aircraft, whether leased or purchased; it must have four key technical staff, some that include the chief pilot, chief operations officer, maintenance officer and chief engineer, and must have an operational base.
Investigations carried out by BusinessDay show that the country’s prospective national carrier currently has not met any of these criteria, and industry stakeholders have expressed concerns as to how the airline hopes to kick off in four months’ time with none of these structures on ground.
Three weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved April 2022 as the take-off date of Air Nigeria, the proposed new national carrier.
Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, said the Federal Government would own only 5 percent equity in the airline while other Nigerians would get 46 percent. He disclosed that strategic partners, including foreign airlines, would be identified to take up the remaining 49 percent equity (as we write, no known technical partner has been mentioned).
Olumide Ohunayo, an aviation analyst, says he was surprised to hear the minister announcing April 2022 as the take-off date for the national carrier because the airline has no structure or investor in place.
“In four months, how does the minister hope to go through the five stages of the AOC and fly in April? This will be a miracle, and this has confirmed the fears of the industry that the airline will be favoured, allowed to override the system and processes and will bully the regulator and all other participants in the industry,” Ohunayo states.
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He however stresses on the need for a level playing field, saying that whatever structures, systems, processes or checks and balances other investors are subjected to, it must also be the same for investors of Nigeria Air.
“Why will a 5 percent holder be the one deciding on the fleet to be used, routes that will be operated, take-off date and other operational issues? These should be determined by the management and board of the airline, which are not yet in place,” he says.
According to John Ojikutu, aviation security consultant and secretary general of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), a 5 percent shareholder cannot plan and dictate to the rest having 95 percent stake.
Ojikutu says any attempt to set up or continue with the planned national carrier will lead Nigeria to a government carrier that will end up the way of the Nigeria Airways.
“There is nothing on ground to show that Nigeria Air can take off and land by April 2022,” Ibrahim Mshelia, owner, West Link Airlines Nigeria and Mish Aviation Flying School, notes.
Mshelia says whether Nigeria will use leverage or get incentives, the time is too short and it is unrealistic for the national carrier to commence operations in four months.
The aviation expert, who says he was an advocate for a befitting airline for Nigeria, be it national carrier or flag carrier and privately run with government’s interest mentioned, states that setting up an airline without the interest of Nigerians means the country would be doing itself the greatest disservice.
“We have a huge market. We are struggling with capital flight, foreign airlines sell tickets and they have to repatriate the money out of the country. But if we have a Nigerian carrier representing us, the money stays here, but we must get it right. It is a shameful thing that the largest African nation has no airline or flag carrier,” he states.
Mshelia explains that since the COVID-19, it takes an airline about one year to renew its AOC, yet Nigeria Air, which is a new airline, plans to get an AOC in four months’ time, and now the minister is talking about starting an airline in five months.
“Government cannot muscle anything in the airline business. Government can give leverage, there can be government’s backing and funding but the government cannot do anything about the process. If the government does otherwise, they will be setting a precedent they cannot sustain.
“Government cannot be seen lowering the standards. We should ask the minister to explain to us how he is going to start an airline that has not been registered in four months. April 2022 is another dream. There is nothing on the ground,” he says.
