Business
Local airlines lose N10bn in 3 weeks of Abuja Airport closure
So far, Nigerian airline operators are estimated to have lost about N10billion due to the closure of the Abuja airport.
The airport was shut for six weeks by government to enable contractors carry out reconstruction work on its runway.
The airliners lament that they have had to cut down their operations by 40 per cent in the first three weeks of the repair work on the Federal capital-based airport.
They revealed that the reduction in operations has cost them not less than N10 billion, incured from loss of revenue and increased overhead costs.
The local airline operators also regretted that most international airlines, except Ethiopian Airline, were still foot dragging on their promise to reconsider their refusal in directing their Abuja bound flights to Kaduna.
The Secretary of the Association of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AAON), Mr. Muftao Adunsaki, said that failure of the international airlines to land in Kaduna had been the main reason most local operators are counting additional losses.
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According to him: “Before the closure, the operators had been grappling with a number of operational issues, including low passenger traffic, high cost of aviation fuel and high overhead costs.
“It is not actually the use of Kaduna Airport that is reducing the revenue projection of operators, rather it made the bad situation take a worse shape,” he stated.
But some of the operators, who spoke on the issue on Saturday, said contrary to government promise of making some facilities available in Kaduna, a number of services supposed to have been rendered by government are yet to be made available, while the ones available are not upto expectation.
For instance, they lamented about limited shuttle buses for passengers and staff of most private companies sent to Kaduna by their employers.
Also passengers are quick in reeling out their gruesome experiences at the airport lounge and the inconvenience of traveling by road to Abuja.
“We had the impression that there should be helicopters to shuttle passengers to Abuja and save passengers the pain of long journey by road”, said a Nigerian-German, who returned from holiday on Saturday.
Both the airline operators and the passengers said that any extension of the Abuja Airport runway repairs, beyond the planned six week-duration, would impact greatly on the sector.
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Anita Kingsley
April 2, 2017 at 5:32 pm
In this days of recession and economic melt down, Nigeria still lost N10bn in three weeks, what were they looking at?
Animashaun Ayodeji
April 2, 2017 at 5:35 pm
“contrary to government promise of making some facilities available in Kaduna, a number of services supposed to have been rendered by government are yet to be made available, while the ones available are not up to expectation,” just a typical Nigerian government that will never keep to its promises
Agbor Chris
April 2, 2017 at 5:39 pm
We lack proper organization in this country. a major airport is under repair and the federal government finds it difficult to provide temporal needs for the alternative airport to use. There are so many things we till need to get right and organisational skill is one of the most important
seyi jelili
April 2, 2017 at 6:19 pm
They should continue to decry because by the time the airport is rehabilitated finally and they resume operations again, they won’t tell us the amount of profit they have made. So what the heck?
JOHNSON PETER
April 2, 2017 at 9:12 pm
That’s true. The money they make in Aviation sector is not a small money. And yet, most of these Airlines have no corporate social responsibility for the state in which they operate.
ikoiikenna
April 3, 2017 at 5:05 am
I won’t blame the international airlines for the affirmative stand they have taken not to land in Kaduna. the news of insecurity in the state is sure to have gotten to them so i don’t blame them. Nigeria should not just rehabilitate airports she should rehabilitate herself too.