Nigeria Air/ET deal: Nigerian airlines crying over spilled milk

The recent threat by some airlines to drag the federal government before the court of law to stop the take-off of the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air has elicited sharp division amongst keep layers in the sector.

The news announcing the plan by the aggrieved domestic airlines to prevent the take off of the Nigeria Air on the excuse that it will undermine their operations has since created mixed feelings with some in support of the national carrier’s project.

Those against the project have premised their position on the failure of the government to present an airline with a national outlook.

According to the latest information some domestic airlines have taken the government to court listing Nigerian Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, as defendants.

The airlines are asking the court among others, to stop the Nigeria Air/Ethiopian Airlines’ deal and withdraw the Air Transport Licence already issued to Nigeria Air by the Federal Government and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on the ground that the issued ATL did not pass through required security clearance.

The development which has created frenzy amongst the different interest groups have generated reactions.

In his reactions, the managing director of Centurion Security Services, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retired) in his reaction to Nigerian Tribune has punctured the domestic airlines unanimously dragging the government to court on the ground that only individuals in the board of the airlines may be justified to challenge the government as against their present joint efforts.

His words: “Individual Nigerians on the board of operators of domestic airlines may be justified to challenge the Federal Government  but not the the airlines as a competitive operator with the planned National Carrier. Any Nigerian too as stakeholders in national assets outside commercial aviation can if the Nigeria/Ethiopian partnership is seen negatively as subverting the sovereignty and economic development of the Nigeria State.

“Such individual can challenge the equity holdings of 5% by the FG as against 49% of Ethiopian Government as well as the high percentage holdings shares of few individuals  in the private companies holdings. What the domestic airlines should be asking from the government is the authority to operate as FLAG Carriers on some of the intercontinental BASA Routes and there are many of them. Globally, flag  carriers other than National Carriers are more now the practice. The markets are there for the private airlines if and only if the government or the courts will not deny them the rights to fly on the BASA routes which are our commonwealth. The only thing they have to do is to ensure they open their doors to the Nigerian public through the Nigeria Stock Markets.

In his short response to the question posed to him on the court case, a strong member of one of the unions in the sector who vehemently opposed the move by the airlines to truncate the take off of the national carrier deal only declared that the domestic airlines will not succeed in the quest.

Few other players are of the opinion that the local carriers lacked the locus standi to seek redress in the court on the basis that when the government through the minister approached them to be part of the proposed national carrier as recently confirmed by the minister, that the domestic carriers rejected the offer.

According to the key players, dragging the government to court or any complaints from the airlines is like crying over an already spilled milk and therefore it’s an efforts in futility.