The Vice Chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Allen Onyema, has warned that several domestic airlines could collapse within the next 30 days unless the Federal Government urgently addresses the severe challenges threatening the survival of the aviation industry.
Onyema, who is also the Chairman of Air Peace, issued the warning on Wednesday during the launch of Pathways, Pilgrimage & Destiny: The Biography of Alhaji Muneer Bankole in Lagos.
He described aviation as a highly capital-intensive industry with relatively low returns, adding that Nigerian airlines were currently facing existential threats that required immediate government intervention.
“Going into aviation is not a piece of cake. It is an industry that is not very rewarding. It is capital-intensive, yet less rewarding,” Onyema said.
“Today, we are facing a phase that has existential threats. Except something drastic is done very quickly within the next 30 days, a lot of airlines might go extinct.”
The Air Peace chairman also cautioned aviation unions against their reported plan to picket domestic airlines over the non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
He warned that other airlines would suspend operations in solidarity should any domestic carrier be picketed.
“If they picket any airline, others will go because there’s no need for that. There is nowhere in the world that government agencies use unions to talk about issues of debt,” he said.
Onyema argued that disputes over alleged debts should be resolved directly between airlines and the relevant government agencies rather than through union action capable of disrupting air travel across the country.
He lamented the difficult operating environment confronting domestic carriers, noting that more than 50 Nigerian airlines had ceased operations over the years despite many of their owners recording success in other sectors.
“Everybody pities Nigerian airlines, yet nobody wants to do anything about their situation. Over 50 airlines have come and gone. The owners of these airlines succeeded in other businesses, yet they failed in the airline business,” he stated.
Onyema maintained that domestic airlines were not opposed to supporting government revenue generation but called for a more sustainable approach that recognised the peculiar nature of the aviation industry.
“The airlines are not against helping the government generate revenue. But no airline in the world is taxed directly for revenue. The airlines indirectly provide revenue for the government,” he said.