THE negative impact of the foreign airlines trapped $744 million funds knows no bounds as many of the foreign companies operating in Nigeria may have started leaving the country following the failure of the Federal Government to release the trapped funds.
Due to the inability of the foreign carriers to repatriate the funds back to their home countries coupled with the expiration of the government under which the funds became accumulated in two weeks time and which may take time for the incoming government to resolve, some of the auxiliary companies to the affected airlines have started laying off their Nigerian workers.
One of such auxiliary companies that has its head office in the United Kingdom and had been responsible for the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities of Emirates Airlines aircraft in Nigeria, Storm Aviation had already laid off about 20 of its Nigerian workers including the technical personnel.
Confirming the development, Engineer Abednego Galadima, the President of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) revealed that the association was already taking up the matter with the company.
Galadima while confirming that some engineers were affected by the foreign aircraft maintenance company’s decision to leave Nigeria, however lamented that all efforts to resolve the blocked funds issue by the airlines had proved abortive over the months even as he urged the government to resolve the crisis before it degenerated further.
While promising to meet with management of the foreign company to negotiate the welfare of the affected workers, Galadima declared “The current challenges being faced by Emirates Airlines are having an effect on our members who are either working with the airline or its contractors in Nigeria. For instance, Storm Aviation, the contractor to Emirates Airlines on MRO, has lost its contract. So, the company decided to quit Nigeria and that decision affected a number of our members working in the company.
“The decision to quit actually affected our engineers working in the MRO of Storm Aviation. The company declared them redundant. So, the union is taking it up with the company. We have commenced redundancy negotiation with Storm Aviation.
“In our next meeting with the company, I believe the company will not drag the discussion. So that our members can get what is due to them. I cannot determine the amount of money involved at the moment. It is a collective bargaining between us and the company. It is not something that I can sit down here to give a figure to.”
Speaking on the issue, MrOlumideOhunayo, the Director, Research, Zenith Travels Limited, maintained that the suspension of operations into Nigeria by Emirates Airlines would have negative implications on the airline’s allied services in the country.
According to Ohunayo, apart from the MRO company, other allied organisations to Emirates like hotels, catering services, car hire, security, expatriates, fuelers and other backup companies would be affected by the decision of the airline to quit the country.
He however, advised the government to allow the foreign airlines to sell their tickets in dollars to the air travelers as way of reducing the challenge of foreign exchange for the airlines as done by the Zimbabwean Government, which allowed the foreign airlines operating into its country to sell tickets in dollar.
Rather than insisting on naira sales for the airlines, Ohunayo insisted that dollar sales would reduce the challenge of blocked funds currently being experienced by the foreign airlines even as he called for the merging of the black market rate with the official rate, noting that this would reduce the challenge.
“By and large, we should find a way out of this crisis. Zimbabwe was also affected and it has told the airlines to sell tickets in dollars. We either tell the airlines to sell in dollars or we try to merge the official rate with the parallel rate so that we can have a single market rate for all. The foreign airlines don’t need to stress themselves with any official rate, which is not available for them in the country.
“Also, once an airline reduces frequencies, it affects its consultants and expatriates who are either relieved of their jobs or placed on compulsory leave. It is usually a loss of revenue for everyone and once these staff are not working, it will also affect their own expenses, which dovetail into the economy.
“Even, the fuel suppliers are feeling the pains. Now, the fuel suppliers that refused to collect naira from Emirates are now collecting zero naira and zero dollars. So, we are all feeling the pains. I think the Nigerian oil companies should have collected naira, rather than insisting in dollars from Emirates and today, everybody on that value chain that gained from the services of Emirates are all down without jobs.”
Emirates Airlines had on October 29, 2022 pulled out of Nigeria after all efforts to repatriate its $85 million trapped in Nigeria back to Dubai.
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