NIGERIA, where agencies of government speak at cross purposes over sensitive and safety issues like air transport, particularly its domestic airline operations just to claim authority is in fact a red flag that may boomerang on everyone’s faces in view of the impending consequences of such actions.
According to an adage, a house divided against itself will surely suffer tragedy which may eventually give room for external enemies to capitalize on to unleash unnecessary havoc if handled carelessly.
This parable brings to the fore the ongoing poor handling of complaints said to have been forwarded to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) by passengers over alleged ‘exploitative fare charges’, unjustified fare increases on advance bookings and lack of transparency in pricing structures leveled against some airlines, particularly Air Peace, the strongest airline in the country.
While there was nothing wrong in inviting Air Peace or any airline for that matter over consumer protection issues in view of the services being rendered, what matters most is the ability of the FCCPC to manage the situation carefully in order not to put the airline or any business under focus in a tight situation that may subsequently create negative impact on its continuous existence.
It is no longer news to see how the entire media space, including social media has become more or less like the battleground where all the principal actors in the case have turned to, to spew out outrageous narratives without considering the negative implications this will have on the business environment that had hitherto been made dangerously unfriendly due to many unpopular policies of the government.
The Air Peace, through its Chief Operating Officer, Mrs Toyin Olajide, who took time off to painstakingly tackle the allegations of the airline engaging in exploitative tendencies or inciting other domestic carriers to charge arbitrarily, wondered why the airline was being targeted as the sacrificial lamb even when there were other airlines that charge higher fares.
Analyzing how despite many obvious questionable policies including: multiple taxations, lack of access to forex, expensive aviation fuel, high insurance premiums and high interest rates on loan facilities amongst other factors that could have warranted the local airlines charging N700,000 for one-hour flights, they are still charging as low as 100,000, rather than appreciate all these sacrifices, the leading airline and others are still being inundated with unrealistic allegations capable of pulling them down.
The airline suspected a calculated attempt by the FCCPC to instigate the public against its brand by pushing out the negative stories regarding its operations, even after the airline had clarified the issues raised by the complainants.
The FCCPC had in return debunked the angle that it was circulating negative news even as it swiftly accused the airline of using blackmail to obstruct investigations into the allegations.
Amidst the brickbats, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, has also accused the FCCPC of being ‘careless’ in its management of the crisis.
Sadly, the development, which has sparked up different narratives amongst the different key players within and out of the sector, is not helping matters as many who have reacted did so from the angle of animosity against the airline, while only few are tackling the issue objectively for national interest.
In the midst of the ongoing drama, the FCCPC, as a government agency saddled with the mandate of ensuring that pricing practices across all sectors, including aviation, are fair and non-exploitative, has the right to invite Air Peace. Amongst the questions however calling for answers include: if in the course of carrying out this function the FCCPC had carried the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, the country’s aviation regulator, along and if the Ministry of Aviation was briefed.
The notion that because FCCPC is an agency saddled with that responsibility, that it did not need to work with the NCAA, does not hold waters for obvious reasons, ranging from the sensitivity of the sector that is being guided by international laws, to the fact that since the NCAA equally have a whole directorate established for a similar purpose like that of FCCPC, the two would have been able to compare notes, and obviously, the matter would have been handled better.
Failure on the part of FCCPC to do more due diligence on the issue is majorly responsible for the hogwash the entire sector is presently witnessing which is being capitalised on by foreign interests to discredit not only Air Peace, but other Nigerian carriers.
Information gathered has shown how the hasty indictment of Air Peace has been used by one of the foreign countries the airline had earlier approached for landing slot to refuse the approval.
Besides the negative impacts the latest allegations will have on the airline, like it or not, if not well managed, the development has a way of also affecting the frantic efforts of the government in partnering with foreign investors like the leasing companies, insurance companies and aircraft manufacturers to do business with the domestic carriers.
While it is hoped that the FCCPC will review its working mechanisms when the call of duty beckons on it in aviation, it is expected that the NCAA and other relevant aviation authorities would be its dependable allies and not competitors.
Above all, now that the FCCPC has suddenly realized the need to go after the Nigerian airlines because of allegations of exploitative charges, let it divert the same strength to the foreign airlines who for long have been neck deep in the exploitation of Nigerian travelers until Air Peace came to the rescue of the Nigerian traveling public. In other words, in the spirit of justice and fairness, let the heat circulate.
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