Nnaji

The chairman, house committee on aviation, Mr. Nnolim Nnaji says aviation needs committed people to drive it, calls on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to create a window for forex to airlines to help reduce the airfare and regrets that the federal government has not done enough to help the airlines, post COVID-19. He spoke at the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) conference held in Lagos recently

Ime Akpan

Legislation and management of aviation industry

The success of any industry is management. If you have the right people in management, it is going to go a long way in achieving good results. Also, once you have committed people especially like we who are in the legislative arm, we are committed to what is happening in the executive.

It’s not that we are trying to police the executive; we are not the type that would want to boss the agencies around because we feel that we have the power to do so, it’s just that we are committed to the safety of the industry. Our duty in the House of Representatives is to support the industry.

Bailout to airlines

The government didn’t do much in terms of bailout for the airlines. The cost of the engine of a Boeing is close to $10 million and what the government provided for all the airlines is about N4 billion, so, when you compare what our airlines got to other countries, you will find out that they didn’t do much for the industry. The aviation industry is a very expensive business and most people do not break even. What they just succeed in doing is to just keep the business going because everything about the industry is offshore and that is a challenge.

Forex to airlines

We have succeeded in getting zero duty for the airlines for the purchase of spare parts. Another issue that they are battling with is the issue of forex. Since they buy most of their stuff abroad, it is important that they have access to forex.

The planes need to be in the sky all the time because the more you move the more money you make so that you can pay your bills. We would want the Central Bank of Nigeria to create a window for Forex because it will help reduce the airfare.

For now, I don’t know how the ban on (sale of) foreign exchange to BDCs will affect airlines but I heard that the black market rate has gone up. I still wonder if banks can manage but…we will get to know how airlines will be affected.

Re-start of operations at Enugu Int’l Airport

We believe that international operations will resume at Enugu airport on July 29. It was waiting for the NCAA to sign off but we have already taken it to that point where we expect the federal government to announce the resumption of flights.