Difficulties in accessing foreign exchange by local operators in the Nigerian aviation industry may cripple the industry, Chairman and CEO of United Nigeria airline, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo has warned.
According to Obiora, the federal government must immediately create a leeway for them to access foreign exchange, affirming that the present cumbersome processes could lead to grounding of aircraft.
He said the cost of the aviation fuel otherwise called Jet A1 makes up 30-40% of the cost of operations just as the aviation component also is 99% forex dominated.
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The airline boss who spoke at an interactive forum to mark the one year anniversary of United Nigeria Airline operations in Nigeria said there should be a “Special funding for foreign exchange access as aircraft operations needs immediate attention… but if we have to continue with what is on ground currently going through the process of foreign exchange access and funding, we will have a situation where we will have various numbers of Aircraft on ground.’’
Dr. Obiora expressed optimism that with the right atmosphere, growth of airline businesses in the country will be on the upward string as more operators have applied for the Air Operators Certificate (AOC) just as he disclosed that it will begin shuttle flight operations into states in the north east.
According to him, the industry has the potential to attract 50 million passengers into the airspace from the present 9 million annually and said the challenge is not the lack of passengers but operators and regulators and service providers must find innovative ways to improve their efficiency in operations and passengers’ satisfaction.