Why FG must protect Med-View Airlines on Lagos/London route

Last week, the rumour filtered into the aviation sector that the European Commission had barred 81 airlines including Nigeria’s domestic carrier, Med-view Airlines from operating into Europe over uncleared reasons.

The bad news which spread like fire created confusion in the sector as it came at a time when the domestic airline business in the country is going through hardship with the peak being the crisis tearing down Arik Air, the largest airline in the country and its subsequent takeover by AMCON coupled with a similar burden that has crippled another major carrier, Aero Contractors.

Amidst all these crises, Med-view Airline happened to be one of the airlines the traveling public is looking up to and therefore, anything that touches it will obviously affect the domestic  airline business in the country.

The news of the rumoured ban became more shocking because it is a known fact that when it comes to the issue of ensuring safety standard are met on the routes Medview Airline operates into particularly the international routes, the airline management has never run foul of the expected rules guiding flight operations.

Though the airline management in a swift response to the development cleared the air by declaring that the rumour was not true in the sense that their operations between the Lagos/London route was not in any way affected.

In his explanation, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the airline, Engineer Looqman Animashaun, explained that Med-view was earlier directed to lease aircraft from any European Union (EU) country in line with the safety standards of the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) which he said the Nigerian carrier had since complied with.

“When we saw the publication, we issued a statement telling Nigerians exactly the true position which you have also found out today. Even the day the publication came out, the flight to London on Wednesday came back on Thursday. We are not perturbed by all those things but we are concerned about the passengers who, one way or the other, would not know the correct situation, that is why we came up with that statement to inform them that the Lagos-London-Gatwick operation is normal and that is exactly what we have done,” Animashaun added.

The good news is that despite the rumoured ban, the airline has continued with its operations into London with full capacity, a situation which has put to rest the insinuation. But the different players in the sector have continued to express surprise over the manner the ban was blown out of proportion.

Since the news broke out, different interpretations have been given to it ranging from the motive behind such news even after the airline had complied with the earlier directive to lease an aircraft  in any European country for the Lagos/London route; why the news of the ban after the airline is presently using an EU leased plane; the role played by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to whether the motive behind the incident was mere ‘aero politics’.

Those asking questions may not be far from the truth in view of the past experience when aero politics came into play with Arik Airline  almost being edged out of the Lagos/London Heathrow airport over questionable reasons. It took the intervention of the then government to protect Arik Air against the move.

The need to let Med-view Airline alone on the London route becomes pertinent in view of the dual designation policy that is existing between the two countries so far safety  is not compromised.

While the government of that country or any of its agents have the right to monitor the aircraft that flies into its airspace, it is also necessary for them to ensure things are done in line with required procedures devoid of any aero politics.

Equally, the management of Med-view should ensure they don’t give room for any lapses that may dent the good image it has successfully carved for itself on the London route and other international routes it presently operates into.

As it is no longer news that Med-view Airline is the only Nigerian airline presently operating into London since Arik suspended flights into the country, any move from anywhere to play any game will make Nigeria to completely lose out of the supposed partnership between the two countries.

The Nigerian traveling public needs Med-view Airline on the Lagos/London route more than before now and therefore, the Federal Government through the regulatory body, the NCAA needs to rise up to the occasion by ensuring that Med-view continually meet all required procedure and at the same time caution the British government not to attempt to play any ‘aero politics’ under the guise of protectionism for its own airlines.

Medview is a Nigerian airline presently doing well in its operations despite the challenges domestic airlines are facing as attested to by many passengers on the Lagos/London route and its ability to declare dividends of N3 kobo per share just three months it got enlisted on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange.