Aviation stakeholders express reservations as FG moves to cut down air travel expenses

AVIATION industry stakeholders have expressed reservation to Federal Government’s planned launch of a strategic initiative aimed at reducing the cost of air travel for civil servants, with the BisonFly Project expected to save an estimated N18 to N24 billion annually through discounted air fares.

Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, emphasised the importance of timely execution and measurable results in the project’s implementation.

He stated that: “Project BisonFly directly supports our commitment to prudent financial management. By coordinating travel and securing discounted rates, we are using the government’s collective bargaining power to cut expenditure and improve service delivery.”

The BisonFly Project is designed to reduce the cost of air travel across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government through a centralized, technology-enabled system.

But some stakeholders see the project as mere economic rigmarole that will further eat into the finances of the already ailing domestic carriers.

Aviation security expert and former Chief Security Officer at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Group Capt John Ojikutu, said the aspect of the deal where government plans to negotiate down airfare with airlines would spell a death knell for the latter as a huge number of air passengers come from the government quarters.

He said: “Let them not go there at all because it will increase the demands of the private airlines for government intervention funds. This type of demand of reduced fares is what killed the Nigeria Airways. Today, not less than 25 to 30 per cent of the domestic air travelers are government agencies (MDAs) and about 50 to 60 per cent are corporate, banks, industries officials.

“How many Nigerians, besides these can afford air fares on their own? What those in administration of our land, the management of the agencies should do first is to find out how much is realistically available in the Nigeria Commercial Aviation and how much is required to sustain safety and security in its operations for us to be able to sufficiently comply with the global standards and to our obligations to ICAO.”

However, government has maintained that by integrating digital booking tools and centralised platforms, the project ensures transparency and efficiency in official travel arrangements.

According to the Minister, the project’s successful implementation will have a lasting impact on the Federal Civil Service, promoting a culture of transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility.

The Minister highlighted the project’s alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda, Fiscal Policy, and Tax Reforms of the present administration, promoting cost optimisation.

He noted that the project’s objectives are in line with the government’s commitment to responsible financial management, aiming to reduce costs and enhance service delivery.

The BisonFly Project is expected to contribute to the country’s economic growth, job creation, and improved productivity in the public sector, ultimately enhancing the overall well-being of Nigerians.

However, a Pilot and financial analyst, Capt. Sam Caulcrick opined that, much as the project would help to check financial recklessness and under-table dealings among the civil servants, government should also ensure that the interests of the airlines are adequately considered

He said: “Unless the initiative also prioritises government-funded air travel with Nigerian airlines for overseas trips as the first option, this project only embodies a significant opportunity for government expenditure savings.

“I commend this endeavour for harnessing technology to minimise public spending. But the government can reinvest a portion of these savings back into the aviation industry to strengthen infrastructure and safeguard jobs, ensuring that the benefits of this initiative resonate throughout the sector and foster growth rather than loss.”

Edun had maintained that with the project’s implementation, the Federal Government is poised to make significant savings, which can be channeled towards other critical sectors of the economy.

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But Ojikutu said that government should concentrate more on policies that would lift the aviation sector, give it a balance rather than formulating policies that would further sink the sector.

“We should stop the rigmarole and face the global practices: concession all the non-Aeronautical Services in the airport where there is more money than it is being reported yearly. Wale Babalakin has not been complaining of loses despite the interruption on the concession given to him over twenty years ago and the uncompleted buildings in the concession. Are we learning lessons from the concessions given to Bayo Ogunlesi (a Nigerian) on three UK Airports? Bet me, on concession of the 22 Federal Airports, our government can make nothing less than N200 billion annually out from the concession.

“If government therefore like, it can continue to subsidise officials travelling fares from that but not again from any social budget allocation or appropriations. Government must make recovery votes available also from the concession for capital projects in aviation. Are those in the administration of our government looking back to the directive given by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006 at a public hearing with all the operators?

“Obasanjo had directed that all forex earnings in civil aviation be domiciled in the CBN and naira values given but can be accessed by the depositors with the same amount of naira given only with the approval of the national assembly. What has happened to the directive under the successive administrations? All the information or new directive from the CBN cannot work in the Nigeria Commercial Aviation than to create another avenue for institutional Corruption in the name of intervention funds and subsidies,” he stressed.