COVID-19: Future of Nigeria’s airlines, aviation sector depends on FG

FOR obvious reasons, it must be a joke for anyone to think the future of aviation sector and airline business in Nigeria like other parts of the globe is not hanging in the air.

This is a reality that may be confronting the entire sector for perhaps, months or years by the time the COVID-19 monster must have finally been defeated for sure.

Recall how what started as endemic in China gradually metamorphosed to pandemic spreading across the world including our dear country, Nigeria.

Again, it will be recalled how the federal government despite all pleas from Nigerians to urgently shut down particularly the international airports to foreign flights failed to act until things went out of hand. That singular misdemeanor is what is responsible for the mess on ground now and this may take the grace of God and several efforts to save the country from suffering high casualty figure.

At any rate, government eventually rediscovered itself and finally ordered the closure of the airports and suspension of foreign flights to further prevent the spread of the monstrous virus.

Amidst the closure, government still approved some foreign flights based on special arrangements for the foreign airlines to only land at designated airports to evacuate their nationals out of Nigeria back to their home countries out of the fear of getting trapped amidst the COVID-19 scourge.

The closure of airports and other measures obviously left the domestic airlines with no alternative but to also suspend their operations until the coast gets clear. But the dream of the airlines to resume soonest may have been chattered with the latest extension of airports closure by another two weeks early in the week.

With the latest extension, only God knows what will be going through the minds of the airline owners and their workers in view of the losses the measures have thrown and still throwing at them.

Before now, some of the airlines had made it known to the workers not to either expect any salary whilst the lockdown lasts just as some declared they can only pay half salary.

According to the Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Megisson, the continuous ravaging of the Coronavirus has cost the domestic carriers N360bn with 120 aircraft belonging to them littering the various airports. Again, it has been announced that as a result of COVID-19 that Nigeria’s aviation sector has an exposure of about 251,000 direct job losses.

Losing this huge amount which may definitely double and considering the unimaginable amount that will go into servicing the 120 planes parked on ground for months is very scary and one wonders how the airline operators intend to survive this.

Besides the uncertainty hanging over the future of the domestic airlines, equally, the future of the aviation agencies is blowing in the wind as all avenues through where they generate funds from the services they provide for airlines and other clients have been affected by the closure of the airports.

It will therefore not be a surprise if the agencies start owing workers’ salaries and unable to execute critical safety projects by the time the airports are eventually reopened.

Obviously, it will cost the agencies humongous funds to service and put into use several equipments that have been abandoned for months.

While the latest airport closure by government was expected in the face of the rising figures of the COVID-19 victims, one pertinent fact that government should put on the front burner as activities remain grounded in the sector is how to help savage the entire system post COVID-19 as the survival of the airlines and the entire sector will be determined by the bailout coming from government which certainly must be a priority.

Among areas government should consider for relief include: ensuring the removal of Value added Tax from all forms of transportation for the airlines, temporary suspension of all aviation related charges running into 32 and subsidy for payment of workers salaries at least to cover 6 months to ensure staff are not sacked.

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