Three weeks after the Federal Government approved a 30 per cent debt relief for Nigerian airlines over the skyrocketing prices of Jet A1 fuel, the carriers have yet to receive any benefits from the initiative. The Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi, informed The Guardian that the airlines have not received any official communication or implementation directive from the Federal Government or aviation parastatals since the announcement.
Implementation Delays and Due Process
The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DG-CA), Chris Najomo, stated that the implementation of the 30 per cent discount approval would follow due process. Despite the announcement by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, airlines have yet to receive any government support.
Stakeholders Question Existence of Debts
A source close to one of the indigenous airlines revealed that none of the existing airlines are indebted to any aviation agencies, questioning the purpose of the debt relief pronouncement. According to the source, aviation agencies such as the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have all adopted a 'pay as you go' system for services rendered to airlines over the years. The source confirmed that no airline has received any form of government support regarding high aviation fuel prices, which remain above N2,500 per litre.
The source elaborated: “The debts are not in existence. For instance, you pay NAMA as you operate; you also pay FAAN the Passenger Service Charge (PSC) almost immediately after airlifting passengers, while the NCAA gets its Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) from the airlines too. So, where is the debt coming from? The airlines are not indebted to the agencies. The government should not generalize any debt. Some of the so-called debts were owed by dead airlines. The agencies have already written them off as bad debts.”
Airlines Await Official Communication
Ado Sanusi further noted that the industry expected the relief to cover all relevant aviation agencies and possibly extend to other government-related obligations, given the severe financial pressures from rising Jet A1 prices and operational costs. He suggested that the delay might be due to administrative and policy implementation processes, emphasizing that airlines would continue engaging the government to ensure the promise is fulfilled.
Attempts to reach the Vice Chairman and Public Relations Officer of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Allen Onyema and Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, respectively, were unsuccessful as messages sent to their phones remained unanswered at the time of reporting.
DG-CA Confirms No Access Yet
Chris Najomo confirmed to The Guardian that airlines have yet to access the discounts. He reiterated that the government has approved the 30 per cent discount on debts owed by airlines to aviation agencies, but implementation is pending.
