Air travel has always presented challenges but these challenges tend to be more manifest during Christmas and New Year season because there is greater traffic at these times in routes across the country.
These challenges range from a shortage of instrument landing systems, which makes it impossible for airlines to fly into and out of most airports across the country during the hazy harmattan season. Another challenge is the depleting fleet of domestic airlines. This creates a glut of unserved passengers. Yet another challenge is the scarcity of aviation fuel.
These challenges are the ingredients for flight delays and cancellations and the passengers bear the brunt.
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As the harmattan season kicks-off, with its typical dust haze which impairs visibility, the poor instrumentation of the countries’ airports again came into focus.
Of Nigeria’s 26 airports, only five have Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), meaning that aircraft cannot fly into and out of the 21 other airports in poor weather conditions.
The lack of ILS comes at a huge cost to airlines operating in Nigeria, especially the domestic carriers, as most of the airports without ILS are those mostly used by them.
Noggie Meggisson, Chairman of AON, said flying during the harmattan season in the Nigerian airspace is always difficult because pilots may not see clearly to navigate the airspace, so they resort flight delays and cancellations.
According to Meggisson, this increases the sufferings of passengers and disrupts their plans for the festive season.
He noted that 49 years, on December 28, 1968, the first aircraft operated at CAT lll and landed in zero visibility at Heathrow airport, yet Nigeria is unable to land aircraft with visibility of about 800 metres.
Meggisson said: “Most international and local flights had to be diverted to Cotonou, during the Harmattan season last year, which is rather unfortunate. The issue of the harmattan haze is a yearly seasonal occurrence as Nigeria has mainly rainy (thunderstorms) and dry seasons (harmattan).
BusinessDay’s checks show that during the harmattan season, which typically lasts from November to January, a lot of flights are cancelled, while others are diverted to alternate airports, costing airlines and travellers untold losses and distress.
An airline source who craved anonymity told BusinessDay that airports with operational ILS in Nigeria are international airports such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja and Enugu airports.
Medview Airline on the 23rd of December, 2017 offered apology to passengers following flights delays and rescheduling experienced in the week.
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In a statement by its spokesman, Obuke Oyibotha, the airline said it regretted the inconveniences caused passengers as a result of such delays and rescheduling.
“We share your pains for our inability at the material time to fly you to your destinations at the appointed time.”
The airline, however, attributed the delays to adverse weather conditions and unscheduled aircraft maintenance, which are critical to flight operations.
“We have put the necessary logistics in place to meet our obligations to our esteemed passengers who have over the years kept faith with us,” the airline added.
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In addition to this, as a result of the reduction in the number of operational aircraft in Nigeria, there was a glut of unserved or delayed passengers this yuletide season, which led to an increase in airfares, BusinessDay’s findings show.
This glut is occasioned by the declining number of operating aircraft in the fleets of Nigerian airlines, as the present seven domestic airlines are now carrying what the eight airlines carried last two years.
The domestic airlines having scheduled operations include Medview, Dana Air, Arik, Aero, Air Peace and Azman.
Aero Contractors, which formerly had ten aircraft on its fleet, is down to two aircraft.
Arik Air, which had over 28 aircraft on its fleet, currently has about ten.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) a few months back, suspended First Nation airline from carrying out scheduled flight operations because as the agency said, the airline did not have enough aircraft to sustain scheduled flights.
With the skyrocketing cost of aviation fuel, airlines are said to be spending more money on operational cost and may be unable not to save money to pay for maintenance checks.
IFEOMA OKEKE
