Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to involve more aviation technocrats in the negotiation process of any Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) in order to render them more productive for the Nigerian economy.
The Operators made this call at the Quarter 1 2022 Breakfast Business Meeting, Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) held in Lagos recently.
The event which had as theme, “Economic Implications of Multiple Entry Points by Foreign Airlines into Nigeria” was graced by stakeholders in the Nigerian aviation sector such as AON, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), veterans of the sector amongst others.
In his address, the Vice President of AON, Allen Onyema, stated: “International airlines operating into the country are usually bound by the terms and conditions defined in BASA or MASA signed between states, and are detailed in the extant BASA/MASA, defining states’ air transport relationship. Where a country’s economic and domestic airline industry is exposed to unlimited perforations through multiple entries and capital flight, it becomes an issue of cabotage which negates international law (Chicago Convention) which guides fairness and equity in the international market, induces high airline failure rates and is inimical to our overall national interests. One way this anomaly can be corrected is for AON and aviation technocrats to form the core of the negotiation process of any Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA).”
According to AON, FGN should “call up all BASAs to be immediately reviewed or cancelled as the case may be, because they are all lopsided”, since they enable multiple entry points by foreign airlines into Nigeria, thereby forcing indigenous airlines to unfairly compete against foreign carriers in the domestic market, “with one hand tied behind their backs.”
Onyema went on to elaborate on the current economic situation faced by indigenous carriers: “Foreign airlines do not pay Income Tax; they have access to cheap funds at 2.25% as against the 26% interest rate for indigenous airlines, and engage in anti competitive behaviour by blocking our airlines from operating into their countries under flippant excuses or guises. The practice of cabotage operations does not add any value to the Nigerian economy due to the attendant capital flight, loss of jobs by our youths; and it negatively affects our contribution to the GDP”, he said.
AON lamented that because non technocrats such as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Aviation are now responsible for negotiating BASAs and MASAs since the demise of Nigeria Airways, priority has shifted from attending to matters of national interest and the search for positive long term economic impact on the domestic aviation industry – but that the situation can be ameliorated, if the right thing is done in good time, for the benefit and growth of the nation.
