CHIEF Executive Officer of Medview Airlines, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, has said domestic airlines cannot compete favourably with foreign carriers under the existing business environment in the country.
Speaking at the 27th annual conference organised by the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondent (LAAC) in Lagos, Bankole noted that the environment within which an airline operates will determine how far it can go.
He said, “There is no way we can compete with any foreign airline. The environment we are in is not the same environment that foreign airlines are in. The environment we are in here determines for you and I anywhere you want to go to lay it on the table. I have gone to precisely 17 countries to do registration under BASA without any hitch.”
On the probability of Nigeria being able to change the challenging narratives of the industry presently, the Medview CEO expressed the optimism that things can still change for the better.
He said, “Things can still change for the better. For that change to come, we have to go to the basis. What we need is to call stakeholders to the table to chart a path for the industry, remove selfish interests or selfish mindsets and we can begin to identify that it is still possible and it is possible.”
On whether the government has been protecting indigenous airlines with the various BASA arrangements it is signing with various countries, Bankole said, “We are making a grave mistake. I will tell you honestly that all those who run to airlines telling people that BASA is one-sided, it is absolutely not correct. The reciprocity that we are talking about is nothing.
“I visited London, Virgin Atlantic came up and everybody wanted to fly to Nigeria because this is the market. How many of our people want to go there? I repeat, I don’t know and I say it openly; we went there. There are four airports in the UK and they are Heathrow, Gatwick, London City Airport, and Stansted Airports.
“There is no sentiment about it. You have 17 aircraft, and you have five aircraft, go and put heads together and discuss with a good mind, open your heart, and let people know who is speaking so that Nigeria can drive a new way forward.”
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