Airline operators and other stakeholders in the Nigerian aviation sector have called on the federal government to review the bilateral air service agreements (BASA) it signed with foreign countries so as to support domestic airlines in Nigeria.
They asked the federal government to check the 100 per cent dominance of the Nigerian airspace by foreign airlines which prevent Nigerian airlines to alternate their own routes.
The stakeholders said this at the 23rd Annual Conference and Award ceremony organised on Wednesday in Lagos by the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC).
Business Day reports that the president of the aviation roundtable and safety initiative, Gabriel Olowo, said Nigeria needs a stable legal framework to grow the industry.
The conference which was chaired by the MD/CEO of Med-View Airline, Muneer Bankole, had the theme “Boosting Aviation Investment through Policy”.
Mr Olowo, who decried the multiple entry points granted the foreign airlines, was quoted as saying “it is disastrous and deliberate annihilation of the domestic market.”
He described a situation where some airlines fly to multiple airports in Nigeria without any Nigeria airline reciprocating as “a negative balance of trade.”
“The essence of regulation is not only about safety. We have failed with economic regulations. This is a major weakness,” he was quoted as saying.
The President of African Airlines Association, Nick Fadugba, also said a situation where 90 per cent of the Nigerian market is controlled by non-Nigerian airline “is damaging to the economy.”
According to him, “Nigeria needs to urgently review its BASA policy. An air route is like an oil block. You don’t just give it out without something in return.”
The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, who was also at the event, said the government has no option but to support the Nigerian airlines to thrive and consequently protect jobs of many Nigerians in their employ.
