Key players fault Emirates on decision to withdraw flight operations from Nigeria

Key players across the country’s aviation sector have condemned to decision by Emirates Airlines to suspend its operations in Nigeria from September 1, 2022, describing the airline’s resolve as a ploy to mount pressure on the Nigerian government to release dollars that are obviously unavailable.

The players who said the issue of the blocked funds had been a challenge in Nigeria since 2015, attributed the inability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay the trapped funds to the obvious fact that the government did not readily have the money.

The key players wondered why Emirates singled out Nigeria for the latest action when there are other countries that have been indebted to the foreign airlines, a situation they said became aggravated by the present global economic meltdown and the Russia-Ukraine war.

The key players’ position is coming even when the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had earlier expressed disappointment with the Nigerian government over the continual withholding of foreign airlines’ revenues, which has prompted Emirates to stop flying to Nigeria’.

In his defence of the Nigerian government, an aviation analyst who is also the chief executive officer of Daniel Young Global Investments Ltd, a local manufacturing company, argued that no one owed the foreign airlines anything in the truest sense as the country according to him was going through so much with no dollar backing.

His words: “They ( foreign airlines) either wait until we have the funds or quit operations as they have done. Enough of this arm-twisting. Their money is in their company’s account and the government has not and cannot tamper with it. So l don’t understand this argument about being owed. It’s affecting all of us. Many domestic airlines are facing the same predicament. They also have received CBN approvals for dollars but no cash.

“Would it be fair for them to go and announce that the government owes them? Instead of saying that the government has dishonoured a commitment to exchange their funds at a certain rate, they chose to announce that the government owed them. Is it good? The narrative these airlines are selling to the world is simply uncomplimentary and disturbing,” Young said.

While insisting that rather than the claims of the foreign carriers that they were the ones that actually owed the federal government over N1 billion from royalties emanating from the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA).

He argued that in the principle of reciprocity, foreign airlines should pay a premium on each passenger they take out of the country if there is no corresponding Nigerian airline servicing the route.

“Emirates does not pay Nigeria royalties from its operations from Nigeria since 2014. If you calculate it, it is more than the money Emirates says the government owes it. so the demand of IATA and Emirates is inimical to the interest of Nigeria. I don’t understand why we are tolerating this. Emirates should stop coming to Nigeria if it chooses to. We have four to five million international passengers annually. That is where their interests are. The federal government should set up a committee to review the BASA we have with these countries. It is high time we started supporting our own,” Young said.

In the same vein, a key expert who spoke under anonymity faulted the action of Emirates adding that at the time the airline increased its frequency that there was no passenger traffic to justify it.

“Please do not succumb to the blackmail of Emirates and their sponsors from within. The country cannot and will not manufacture dollars for them to repatriate over $80 million in Nigeria. When they were competing to outdo an indigenous, the only airline doing direct flights to Dubai, didn’t they know of the dollar situation here before embarking on having multiple frequencies into Nigeria? They do two flights out of Lagos daily and one out of Abuja daily, bringing the total to three daily flights into Nigeria and 21 flights every week.

“Once they heard a Nigerian airline was about to start flying to Dubai, they applied to increase the Lagos frequency to three flights daily, just to stifle the airline out and dominate the route. They didn’t need all these flights but they increased frequency to stifle competition. Nigerians are even angry at the figures they are publishing; they feel having been ripped off by Emirates,” the expert added.

Also commenting on the impact of what he referred to as the subtle blackmail of the government by Emirates, an airline chief declared: “The pressure is on and sooner than later, the government will succumb and release millions in forex that is supposedly scarce to foreign operators that create and sustain jobs in their respective countries. $600m! Why not? who does not want to travel abroad? This is a huge subsidy to them in addition to the obscene fares they charge Nigerians which obviously have discounted the Naira at 800/$! Check it.

“Yet domestic operators cannot get forex to buy spares and pay for their leases or buy aircraft. Yes, how much do we really need? Nothing compared to the direct subsidies given to foreign airlines. Government should support Nigerian aviation investors, who create and sustain millions of jobs here. Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) should also mount pressure to ensure that these monies are not paid to foreign airlines, while order priorities suffer,” he said.

While canvassing that what the government should do was to approve that airlines should sell their tickets in foreign currency, the key players stated: “Time for a step back and reassessment. How come the airlines can’t repatriate their sales? Is it that they desire Dangote dollars as opposed to market dollars? This begs the statement of the CBN. We are not the source of delays in repatriation. Everyone on international flights carries dollars, Euros, Yuan, Rand, and Dirham. So, why aren’t the airlines converting their Naira sales to transfer? Waiting for the banks? Daily the banks are trading market dollars. Here is a case of, how are domestic airlines getting foreign exchange. This is now a case of don’t cry for me Argentina.

“The real story, therefore, affects all sectors of the economy. Foreign airlines are asking for special treatment. We can’t, therefore, be blamed if domestic airlines are better at the price mechanics that make them more successful on the routes suspended by foreign carriers. For me, I’m going to stop saying funds are trapped, they aren’t. Air Peace should step into the gap voluntarily exited by Emirates, our media must also counter the foreign narrative that funds are trapped,” the key players argued.

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