Travel News

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has carried out a minor re-organisation in the system.

The re-organisation which has been attributed to the recent scandalous theft of all the lighting cables at the Runway 18 Right of the Lagos International Airport by some undesirable elements saw the redeployment of the Regional Airport Manager, South West Airports at the international airport, Mr. Felix Akinbinu to the Airfield Services Department.

In a memo announcing the redeployment signed by the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr. Kabir Mohammed,  Akinbinu is to hand over to Mr. Sunday Ayodele who was hitherto the redeployment, the General Manager Airfield services on or before July 14, 2023.

The immediate redeployment formed part of actions to be taken by the organisation to prevent a repeat of the theft and incursion into the restricted parts of the airport.

The investigative committee set up to fish out all the FAAN workers and their accomplices involved in the theft of the stolen multi-million naira lighting cables are yet to conclude their probe.

Meanwhile, the fate of all the heads of the relevant departments placed on suspension on the order of the permanent secretary in the Ministry of aviation, Dr Emmanuel Meribole are still hanging.

The bank had on Tuesday informed its customers through text and email that it would automatically update to the new version on 12 July.

By Ayodeji Adegboyega

Customers of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) on Friday expressed frustration about the use of the bank’s mobile app amid disruption in the bank’s digital operations.

The development came against the background of an app update which was expected to bring improvements and new features to the bank’s mobile transactions but resulted in login issues and related difficulties for customers.

The bank had on Tuesday informed its customers via text and email messages that its app would be automatically updated to the new version on 12 July.

“On the 12 July, we will release the new and updated version of the GTWorld Mobile Banking App to Play Store and App Store. This means that when you launch the GTWorld Mobile Banking App, you will see a newly designed interface if you have App Updates set on automatic.

“However, if App Update is not set to automatic on your mobile device, you will need to manually update your GTWorld Mobile App to experience the newly designed app. Please note that we will discontinue support of the current version of the GTWorld App on 12 August,” the message read.

However, since Thursday, GTBank customers have faced challenges with the app updates, as many customers said that they were not adequately informed about the need to enable auto-updates for the app.

One customer, Deji Elifisan, expressed disappointment with the entire process.

He wrote: “I think they should have emphasised the fact that we must have our GT app on auto-update to avoid this problem many are facing. I read it in the messages they sent to put the app on auto-update to avoid this.”

PREMIUM TIMES observed that the challenges varied among customers, but they shared the common experience of being unable to access their accounts on the app.

Some users reported that the app froze after entering their phone number, preventing them from proceeding any further. Others said they were locked out of their accounts after multiple unsuccessful attempts to log in.

At the height of the frustration, some customers decided to delete the app in hopes of resolving the login issues, only to realise that both the new and old versions of the app were missing from the App Store.

Many have since been unable to access banking services, PREMIUM TIMES’ learnt from multiple interviews with customers.

“I even deleted it, now I can’t find both the new and old app on the App Store,” one customer, Oluwadamilare, said.

Another individual, Azyzah, expressed frustration by stating, “Am completely stuck, only God knows how many times I’ve clicked proceed after inputting my phone number. God! Nothing is proceeding. And I hardly do this update thing, but woke up to it, guess there is an automatic update set somewhere on my phone. It’s really frustrating right now.”

Olukotun Gideon, a customer, wrote: “I came to Twitter for this. I just saw my app icon change and decided to log in… Tried repeatedly till I was locked out. One hour after, I retried and it went worse. Then I uninstalled and decided to install… Unfortunately, it’s no longer on App Store. GTB… Let us breathe.”

Despite the widespread outcry from GTBank customers, the bank is yet to fix the challenge.

Multiple telephone calls and text messages sent to the bank’s spokesperson, Charles Eremi, were not responded to as of press time Saturday afternoon.

By Hannah Johnson

Seychelles has announced strengthened border controls that will see tourists with Nigerian passports undergo strict screening before entry.

This decision by Seychelles follows an upsurge in drug trafficking and fraudulent activities by some Nigerian passport holders reports, The News Agency

Seychelles Vice President, Ahmed Afif told reporters on Thursday that Nigerians with diplomatic passports and active work or residency licences issued by the island nation will be permitted entry.

“For the others, the government will keep its eyes open and SEBS (Seychelles Electronic Border System) will analyse much more to find out what reasons they are coming example someone who is coming for a holiday for only one day. We have to ask questions because it is strange and we have seen that happening,” Afif said.

He added that there were many instances where many Nigerians said they were coming for holidays but only for one or two days.

Afif said, “When we checked the payments made for them to come to Seychelles, it is from only one source. This is for different people coming on different days which shows an organised syndicate.”

He said that in recent months, particularly, the administration has seen “a tendency that we have deemed as dangerous for our border control and economy, due to criminal activities happening in the country.”

The Vice President said “We have seen a clear link between this with certain people from Nigeria. In the past two weeks, for example, 13 people coming from Nigeria have been arrested when entering Seychelles because they were carrying drugs into the country.

“In one case, 62 Nigerians who said they were on holiday used false credit cards and the money was never credited to the accounts of these establishments. These establishments have lost money. These people spent free holidays in the country at the expense of the establishment owners and there is nothing that can be done for them.

“There are other online scams originating from Nigeria. We have seen that these people are also coming to Seychelles and doing those scams. We do not have a problem with Nigeria or its people though we do not tolerate such criminal activities in our country.”

Social media discussions concerning a purported prohibition on Nigerian passport holders travelling to Seychelles began last Saturday when a Twitter user posted a screenshot of a Seychelles Electronic Border System message that seemed to be an entry application that had been denied.

“We regret to inform you that your application has been denied, as per immigration regulation, for now, we are not accepting any Nigerian passport holder for holiday purposes,” read the screenshot.

Afif noted the lack of communication regarding the government’s response, stating that “it should be noted that the information that was circulated was not official, coming from a system, and it was done in a non-coordinated manner.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, is set to meet with the Nigerian ambassador for Seychelles to discuss the matter.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, is trying to figure out how to hand over to the appropriate Nigerian authorities any Nigerians who have been convicted there.

By Tope Omogbolagun

The Executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, says over 137 students sponsored abroad by the fund absconded.

Echono spoke on Tuesday when he appeared before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee investigating the alleged mismanagement of N2.3tn tertiary education tax by TETFund.

He stressed that the scholars who were sponsored by TETFund for “higher education” abroad refuse to return to the country after completing their programmes.

The Executive Secretary said, “Some of the scholars that have been sponsored, unpatriotically when they go, they enjoy our scholarship, acquire a higher degree, then refuse to come back, it has become a major crisis.

“The scholarship requires that you will come back. It is required that you have a guarantor and in many cases, the guarantor has suffered undue hardship because when you disappear, we hold the guarantor to pay all the money expended on your behalf but that has not been effective.”

Echono said TETFund is working with stakeholders for “stringent and effective measures” to be taken against those who refuse to return to the country for Nigerians to benefit from their expertise.

“We believe that in a system where we work with our embassies and the institutions, we can enforce the repayment for those who insist they will not come back,” he said.

He added that if the scholars who don’t want to return to the country refuse to repay the money expended on their programmes, they will be declared persona non grata.

Echono said, “We will write to the embassies and they will make it available to those countries and they will not be able to get jobs. They will be seen as fugitives of law from their countries.

“We may have to take that hard stand because the numbers are alarming. We just checked about 40 institutions and over 137 absconders and the review is ongoing.

“It is a huge number that we cannot afford and so we will be seeking your support to strengthen some of the existing regulations to ensure that those who benefit from this programme must come back.

“We are not against people looking for greener pastures but do so on your own, not through our scholarship or our sponsorship.”

The Executive Secretary said TETFund may suspend foreign scholarship due to the exchange rate crisis.

Echono said that some of the taxes are paid to TETFund in foreign currencies at the account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria but when fees are to be paid for scholars abroad, the apex bank insists on TETFUND sourcing Forex by itself.

He added, “We operate a system where our forex is being sold on our behalf at an official rate and we apply like anybody else to get it, sometimes it leads to additional cost.

“Currently as I speak, we are in consultations with all our stakeholders to suspend foreign training for a year or two.

“This is because of the recent exchange rate adjustments. We are unable to continue based on our disbursement guidelines.

“The money we allocated in naira cannot cover the dollar requirement for training. For those who are currently there, we now need more naira to pay for the dollar that is required for their annual fees. We are trying to put a hold.”

He said most of our training will now be done locally through “our experienced, first-generation universities and other specialised universities” in the country.

“This way we can retain our resources in-house and cope with the change of foreign exchange variation,” he added.

Echono also said the federal government was owning TETFund N371.3 billion out of which it has repaid N46 billion so far.

He also denied the allegations that TETFund mismanaged the N2.3tn fund.

Meanwhile, Oluwole Oke, chairman of the committee, said the probe is not to witch-hunt, adding that the lawmakers are out to stop the misuse of public funds.

BY  Selina Xu, Bloomberg News

, Source: Juwai IQI

(Bloomberg) -- Australia is the top overseas destination for Chinese property hunters in the first half of this year, according to real estate firm Juwai IQI’s latest ranking.

Chinese appetite for property Down Under topped their interest in other popular markets like Canada, the UK and the US, the report said, based on the number of buyer inquiries received on the platform. 

The United Arab Emirates, which ranked 13th in 2021, shot up to eighth place. Germany fell out of the top 10, which included four Southeast Asian countries.

Meanwhile, Chinese demand is likely to grow as international travel resumes, according to Kashif Ansari, group chief executive officer and co-founder of Juwai IQI. A significant portion of real estate transactions are still dependent on buyers being able to go abroad, though outbound travel has yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels due to limited airline capacity and expensive fares, he said. 

Read More: Chinese Buyers Return to Resurgent Australian Property Market

A sustained exodus over the next few years will likely continue to drive Chinese property investments abroad. About 712,000 people from the country will migrate to the US, Canada and Australia from 2023 to 2025, the report estimated. 

President Xi Jinping’s push for “common prosperity” means China’s wealthy have been flocking to more welcoming places like Singapore or setting up a backup plan, while three years of harsh Covid Zero restrictions have added to reasons to relocate. Capital flight from the mainland could reach $150 billion this year, as more people park their money abroad for fear of additional measures at home. 

While Western countries have long been a mecca for Chinese immigrants, Southeast Asia has emerged as a hotspot for high-net-worth Chinese individuals, with governments rolling out a plethora of ‘golden visa’ programs that fast-track investors and professionals to residency.

Chinese citizens are the biggest source of demand for golden visa programs across the globe, which can allow people to stay as long as 20 years.  

In 2021, Chinese accounted for 46% of approved applicants in two of the most popular programs: Greece and Australia. They made up 31% of approvals for Portugal. 

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) looks forward to the shareholders of Arik Air (W3, Lagos) raising funds and paying the asset manager to release their company back to them as soon as possible, the stricken airline's receiver, Omokide Kamilu Alaba, has informed ch-aviation.

He was responding to a query following a report by The Guardian newspaper in Lagos that AMCON intends to withdraw from the ownership and operations of Arik Air, which has been under its receivership since February 8, 2017.

AMCON - a Nigerian federal government-owned asset recovery entity - assumed control after Arik Air racked up debts of NGN141 billion naira (USD186.6 million) to banks. Kamilu Alaba explained that AMCON was not a shareholder, but was administrating the receivership - an insolvency action over debt owed.

However, according to The Guardian's unnamed sources, AMCON now plans to withdraw, either through negotiations with Arik Air's shareholders or by liquidating its assets. The sources suggest that AMCON's takeover of the financially troubled airline in 2017 was driven more by political and economic considerations than the airline's viability, leading to the decision to withdraw from its ownership.

Arik Air shareholders recently expressed concern over the apparent depletion of the airline's assets under receivership and that the airline's receiver manager failed to publish audited accounts as directed by the Nigerian Federal High Court in Lagos on March 31, 2023.

AMCON has stated its intention to appeal the court ruling that prevents the asset manager from transferring Arik Air's assets to launch a new airline.

According to Kamilu Alaba, AMCON has made several attempts to settle the debt and return the airline to its shareholders, including a 2018 proposal to settle the debt fully with a payment of NGN65 billion (USD82 million). Omokide stated that should shareholders cooperate, AMCON was willing to bring in new investors.

Despite the strained relationship between the parties and their involvement in legal proceedings, Kamilu Alaba said AMCON remains open to finding a settlement with the shareholders as the objective is to recover debt and not engage in disputes.

(Bloomberg) -- Two headaches that have dogged the summer — scorching heat and flight delays — came together on a Delta flight in Las Vegas this week.

Passengers were left sitting in the plane for hours, during which they say they had no access to the bathroom and no idea when they would take off to Atlanta. All the while, they had to endure the soaring temperatures that are baking large swaths of the southern US. 

Children screamed, adults relayed the nightmare on social media, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed his displeasure at Delta Air Lines Inc. and promised an investigation.

“I want to know how it was possible for passengers to be left in triple-digit heat onboard an aircraft for that long,” he said in a statement earlier reported by Reuters. “Even at normal temperatures a tarmac delay is not supposed to go that long and we have rules about that, which we are actively enforcing right now.”

Temperatures in Las Vegas reached 116F on Monday when the incident occurred and are predicted to be 115F on Friday. 

Delta said it’s cooperating with the investigation into flight 555, which was delayed three times on Monday, in part because of heat-related complications, and is conducting its own probe. 

The Boeing 757, scheduled to fly from Harry Reid International Airport and carrying 197 passengers and six crew, was initially delayed for lack of one flight attendant. It pushed back from the gate but had to return because of weight and balance issues caused by the high temperatures, which can cause parts to swell and affect engine performance. 

Heat also changes the surface air density and the amount of lift produced at a given speed, limiting the maximum aircraft weight for takeoff.

After waiting in line to take off, the Delta plane returned to the gate again when a passenger became ill. The flight was canceled before it could be pushed back a third time.

At the end of the ordeal, one passenger and a flight attendant were taken to a hospital as a result, the airline confirmed Friday.

--With assistance from Richard Clough.

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the suspension of government work and public-school classes in the country’s capital region of metropolitan Manila on Monday because of Typhoon Doksuri and a scheduled 72-hour transport strike.

Suspension of work in the private sector and classes in private schools has been left to their discretion, the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement on Saturday. Marcos, who assumed office in June 2022, is scheduled to hold his second State of the Nation Address on Monday.

The typhoon, which is named Egay in the Philippines, has maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers (47 miles) an hour and gusts of up to 90 kilometers an hour, the local weather bureau Pagasa said in a report. 

It’s forecast to intensify into a severe tropical storm in the next 12 hours and to peak at super typhoon category on Tuesday or Wednesday while over the Philippine Sea to the east of northern Luzon, Pagasa said. Metro Manila is located on the southwestern side of central Luzon.

There is no end in sight to the continued spike in international fares as Nigerian travellers to other parts of the world pay more than…

By Abdullateef Aliyu

There is no end in sight to the continued spike in international fares as Nigerian travellers to other parts of the world pay more than three times higher than what their counterparts in neighbouring countries pay on some routes, checks by Daily Trust Saturday have shown.

Our correspondent reports that stakeholders and travellers had decried the high airfares in Nigeria, but little did they know that travellers in neighbouring countries, such as Ghana, Benin Republic, Niger, among other West African neighbours, pay far less on the same class of ticket.

Recently, a social media post went viral about how Lagos to London costs $1,636 (1.3m) and Cotonou to London costs $469 (N380,000) on the same date and airline.

However, checks by Daily Trust Saturday indicate that virtually all the neighbouring countries enjoy far cheaper airfares than Nigeria despite the high travel demand.

Some analysts, however, said the dynamics of demand and supply were at play, coupled with the fact that Nigeria lacks the capacity for reciprocity.

The Lagos-London route remains a reference point because of its busy nature with Nigerians thronging the United Kingdom for businesses, education, and those seeking greener pastures.

A direct flight from Lagos to London is about six hours, 30 minutes.

Turkish Airlines appears to be the most expensive of the tickets, with a Lagos-London flight costing as much as $3,534 (N2.7m) while the lowest advertised fare is $1,432 (N1.1m).

However, the same flight for Cotonou costs between $475 (N368, 837) and $601 (N466, 676).

Also, Accra to London on Turkish Airlines is $701 (544,326) while Niamey, Niger Republic to London costs $918 (N712,827).

Apart from Lagos-London, a check on Lagos-Amsterdam on the same Turkish Airlines put the fare at $1,797 while the same route for Accra is $751.

Checks on British Airways, a United Kingdom (UK) carrier, indicate that the Lagos-London one-way economy ticket costs 2,698pounds or N2.7million at the exchange rate of N957 while Accra-London with a longer flight time costs 2,416pounds or N2.4m or 35,958 GHC. 

There was no BA flight from Cotonou for the month of July but only available for Sierra-Leone and Liberia at the ticket cost of 2,866 pounds and 3,167 respectively.

For Ethiopian Airlines, the lowest fare for Lagos-London ticket is N941, 930 and the highest being N1,552, 349 at the time of checking.

However, compared to Cotonou, it is higher as the Cotonou-London ticket is as low as N603, 900 for a longer distance of seven hours, 31 minutes.

For Accra-London on Ethiopian Airlines, the ticket goes for N673, 225. It is equally cheaper from Lome, Togo and Monrovia, Liberia.

Another airline checked by our correspondent is Rwand Air, which fixed its fare at N2, 013,037.

Low naira value, biz environment responsible

Stakeholders said the business environment, naira depreciation and the trapped funds were some of the factors that have increased international flight tickets in Nigeria.

More so, they said the principle of demand and supply, worsened by the absence of any Nigerian carrier on the European routes, had worsened the plight of air travellers.

At the time of filing this report, the airline’s rate of exchange was N803 to one dollar from N776, while foreign airlines’ trapped funds in Nigeria hit over $800m.

The president of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Mrs Susan Akporiaye, said the comparison of Nigeria and neighbouring countries in terms of airfares would be unfair.

She said the economic situation in Nigeria was not the same as Cotonou or Ghana, where there is relative stability in their exchange market.

The NANTA president said airlines were not selling their lower tickets because of the trapped funds. She, however, recalled that before the economic situation deteriorated, the travel agencies made a presentation to the National Assembly five years ago, lamenting over the expensive fares charged by foreign airlines, and called on them to enact a law to make the fares to be at par with what is charged in the neighbouring countries, but nothing was done.

She said, “But doing that comparison now would be unfair because Cotonou does not have the crisis we have in the Nigerian market.

“Presently, the airlines are not selling their low fares and our exchange rate has gone up, so doing that comparison now won’t be fair.

“It has always been like that. Nigeria’s fares are higher than other places, even before this crisis. When everything was normal and our exchange rate was N200, our fares were still higher in the Nigeria market.

“I remember that we took this issue up with our lawmakers over and again but they did not do anything about it.”

She said a fair comparison could only be made when things become normal.

“When things go back to normalcy we can do a proper comparison. Of course, it is a known fact that prices in Nigeria are always higher, and the only explanation airlines in Nigeria give is that it is about the law of supply and demand.

“For us in Nigeria, travelling is a demand; hence the reason the prices in our country cannot be the same as Accra,” she added.

‘Japa:’ Nigerians face hard times

Many Nigerians planning to leave the country to the UK, US or Canada, among other countries, are facing hard times coping with exorbitant tickets.

Sources in the travel industry told our correspondent that while the airlines have released low inventories, which are very few, those low fares have been fully booked for July, August, up to September.

A passenger who travelled to Canada two weeks ago via one of the East African carriers said she paid over N2.7m for her flight.

“I had to sell off my car to raise the money; it wasn’t easy. Although I had an issue, which according to them was responsible for the expensive cost of the ticket, it is still on the high side. They said there was a mix-up on the travel date.”

Toluwani, who got an admission in the UK and she is expected to resume in August, said she might consider going to Cotonou if it is possible because the ticket price is too high in Nigeria.

“I am yet to book my flight, but I am being told I would need about N2m for a flight to the UK. Where will I get that?”

A travel agent who simply identifies herself as Jenny said, “What many people are doing now is to put a distress sale on their properties to be able to raise money for tickets.”

While the exchange rate was given as one of the reasons for the high fares, finding shows that there is no significant exchange rate difference for naira and the CFA.

As at Friday, July 21, 2023, one dollar exchanged at CFA 588.96West African, which equals N791.01, while for Ghana Cedis, one dollar equals 11.67, which translates to N790.74.

Another issue cited is the ease of doing business, which observers say might not be a sufficient ground for the huge difference.

A 2019 ease of doing business score in West Africa, published by statista.com indicated that Ghana led with 59.22 on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the best possible performance in doing business. The country ranked highest, compared to other West African countries. Côte d’Ivoire and Cape Verde followed with scores of 58 and 55.95 respectively. Guinea Bissau achieved 42.85 score points, representing the lowest in comparison to the other West African countries. However, Nigeria scored 52.89; Benin 51.42; Liberia 43.51.

Stakeholders speak

The founding partner/executive director of General Sales and Solution Management Limited (GSSM), an aviation consultancy firm, Babatunde Adeniji, said there was no justification to make the comparison.

He described the ticket differences as “unbalanced comparisons,” asking, “Is the cost of doing business in Cotonou and Nigeria the same?

“It was not rigorous enough and simplistic to reach such a conclusion,” he said, adding that he would not believe the claim of rip-off by foreign airlines.

“Basically, any investment, including business, involves weighing your risk against your rewards. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. Exchange rate risk is a high risk. So they must manage it while trying for higher rewards.”

The secretary-general of the Aviation Roundtable and Safety Initiative, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, said the solution to higher fares was for Nigerian carriers to participate in the market.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that no Nigerian carrier is operating to any European route at the moment, especially the highly lucrative London route.

Last week, the chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, said his move to start a London route was being frustrated by authorities in the UK, adding that his intention was to crash fares as it is a misnomer for a one-way ticket to London to cost over N2m.

But Ohunayo told our correspondent that the Nigerian government should go beyond designating a local carrier to another country, saying it must provide the full complement of diplomatic support through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Aviation and Justice.

He said, “The continued increase in tickets on the Nigerian routes is because there is high demand, which is not being met by capacity. That’s why we are having this issue. It is sad that as popular as the London route is, with 21 frequencies only being used to the maximum by British carriers, there is none from Nigerian operators. What’s wrong?

“If the scheduled airlines cannot start the London route, let the chartered airlines be representing Nigerians.

“For any Nigerian airline carrying the Nigerian flags, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justices and Aviation must support the airlines and take all encumbrances away from the airline.

“The moment you ask an airline to go to a country, all the international protocols must be activated to support this airline, it must not be a government-owned airline before you support it. Virgin Atlantic is being supported by the British government on issues that have to do with international trade.

“We saw a belated fight to support Air Peace on the Dubai route after the damage had been done. The demand is here.”

An aviation consultant and airline operator, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia blamed the exorbitant fares in Nigeria on the operating environment.

Mshelia, who is the chairman/chief executive officer of West Links Airline said, “The infrastructure and processes passengers and visiting airlines go through in Nigeria are dilapidated and most unfriendly. The cost of services in Nigeria to visiting airlines and domestic ones, to drop and pick up passengers, is much higher in Nigeria than elsewhere as the government has over-employed people who are often unprofessional and too many that the agencies have to create multiple charges to raise money to meet up with the internally generated revenue. The visiting airlines need to recover their costs, so it is the travellers who pay. 

“These are basically the issues. The Nigerian airspace is the most unfriendly and most expensive in the region.”

Also, Group Captain John Ojikutu, the immediate past secretary of the Aviation Roundtable, said given that aviation is traded in dollars, Nigeria should “find the economic way to reduce the value of naira against the dollar as it was in the 1980s and 1990s when it was N40/$.”

“An average airfare was N4,000 or $100. Fuel then was refined locally and not imported at forex costs. So don’t expect airfares to be less, plus the cost of imported fuel for one leg.”

Ojikutu also pointed at what he called security and fuel management, which added to the cost of operation for foreign airlines.

“How many of you know that most EU airlines have secondary security screening for international passengers and hold-baggage? Domestic airlines are complaining of fuel contamination; have you heard such complaint from foreign airlines? If foreign airlines are managing all these on their own, it is at a cost.

“Lastly, what are you doing for the MTN that pays service providers in naira to repatriate their naira earnings in dollars, which you cannot do for foreign airlines that pay for services in dollars to repatriate their earnings?”

(NANTA), Mrs Susan Akporiaye, said the comparison of Nigeria and neighbouring countries in terms of airfares would be unfair.

She said the economic situation in Nigeria was not the same as Cotonou or Ghana, where there is relative stability in their exchange market.

The NANTA president said airlines were not selling their lower tickets because of the trapped funds. She, however, recalled that before the economic situation deteriorated, the travel agencies made a presentation to the National Assembly five years ago, lamenting over the expensive fares charged by foreign airlines, and called on them to enact a law to make the fares to be at par with what is charged in the neighbouring countries, but nothing was done.

She said, “But doing that comparison now would be unfair because Cotonou does not have the crisis we have in the Nigerian market.

“Presently, the airlines are not selling their low fares and our exchange rate has gone up, so doing that comparison now won’t be fair.

“It has always been like that. Nigeria’s fares are higher than other places, even before this crisis. When everything was normal and our exchange rate was N200, our fares were still higher in the Nigeria market.

“I remember that we took this issue up with our lawmakers over and again but they did not do anything about it.”

She said a fair comparison could only be made when things become normal.

“When things go back to normalcy we can do a proper comparison. Of course, it is a known fact that prices in Nigeria are always higher, and the only explanation airlines in Nigeria give is that it is about the law of supply and demand.

“For us in Nigeria, travelling is a demand; hence the reason the prices in our country cannot be the same as Accra,” she added.

‘Japa:’ Nigerians face hard times

Many Nigerians planning to leave the country to the UK, US or Canada, among other countries, are facing hard times coping with exorbitant tickets.

Sources in the travel industry told our correspondent that while the airlines have released low inventories, which are very few, those low fares have been fully booked for July, August, up to September.

A passenger who travelled to Canada two weeks ago via one of the East African carriers said she paid over N2.7m for her flight.

“I had to sell off my car to raise the money; it wasn’t easy. Although I had an issue, which according to them was responsible for the expensive cost of the ticket, it is still on the high side. They said there was a mix-up on the travel date.”

Toluwani, who got an admission in the UK and she is expected to resume in August, said she might consider going to Cotonou if it is possible because the ticket price is too high in Nigeria.

“I am yet to book my flight, but I am being told I would need about N2m for a flight to the UK. Where will I get that?”

A travel agent who simply identifies herself as Jenny said, “What many people are doing now is to put a distress sale on their properties to be able to raise money for tickets.”

While the exchange rate was given as one of the reasons for the high fares, finding shows that there is no significant exchange rate difference for naira and the CFA.

As at Friday, July 21, 2023, one dollar exchanged at CFA 588.96West African, which equals N791.01, while for Ghana Cedis, one dollar equals 11.67, which translates to N790.74.

Another issue cited is the ease of doing business, which observers say might not be a sufficient ground for the huge difference.

A 2019 ease of doing business score in West Africa, published by statista.com indicated that Ghana led with 59.22 on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the best possible performance in doing business. The country ranked highest, compared to other West African countries. Côte d’Ivoire and Cape Verde followed with scores of 58 and 55.95 respectively. Guinea Bissau achieved 42.85 score points, representing the lowest in comparison to the other West African countries. However, Nigeria scored 52.89; Benin 51.42; Liberia 43.51.

Stakeholders speak

The founding partner/executive director of General Sales and Solution Management Limited (GSSM), an aviation consultancy firm, Babatunde Adeniji, said there was no justification to make the comparison.

He described the ticket differences as “unbalanced comparisons,” asking, “Is the cost of doing business in Cotonou and Nigeria the same?

“It was not rigorous enough and simplistic to reach such a conclusion,” he said, adding that he would not believe the claim of rip-off by foreign airlines.

“Basically, any investment, including business, involves weighing your risk against your rewards. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. Exchange rate risk is a high risk. So they must manage it while trying for higher rewards.”

The secretary-general of the Aviation Roundtable and Safety Initiative, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, said the solution to higher fares was for Nigerian carriers to participate in the market.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that no Nigerian carrier is operating to any European route at the moment, especially the highly lucrative London route.

Last week, the chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, said his move to start a London route was being frustrated by authorities in the UK, adding that his intention was to crash fares as it is a misnomer for a one-way ticket to London to cost over N2m.

But Ohunayo told our correspondent that the Nigerian government should go beyond designating a local carrier to another country, saying it must provide the full complement of diplomatic support through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Aviation and Justice.

He said, “The continued increase in tickets on the Nigerian routes is because there is high demand, which is not being met by capacity. That’s why we are having this issue. It is sad that as popular as the London route is, with 21 frequencies only being used to the maximum by British carriers, there is none from Nigerian operators. What’s wrong?

“If the scheduled airlines cannot start the London route, let the chartered airlines be representing Nigerians.

“For any Nigerian airline carrying the Nigerian flags, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justices and Aviation must support the airlines and take all encumbrances away from the airline.

“The moment you ask an airline to go to a country, all the international protocols must be activated to support this airline, it must not be a government-owned airline before you support it. Virgin Atlantic is being supported by the British government on issues that have to do with international trade.

“We saw a belated fight to support Air Peace on the Dubai route after the damage had been done. The demand is here.”

An aviation consultant and airline operator, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia blamed the exorbitant fares in Nigeria on the operating environment.

Mshelia, who is the chairman/chief executive officer of West Links Airline said, “The infrastructure and processes passengers and visiting airlines go through in Nigeria are dilapidated and most unfriendly. The cost of services in Nigeria to visiting airlines and domestic ones, to drop and pick up passengers, is much higher in Nigeria than elsewhere as the government has over-employed people who are often unprofessional and too many that the agencies have to create multiple charges to raise money to meet up with the internally generated revenue. The visiting airlines need to recover their costs, so it is the travellers who pay.

“These are basically the issues. The Nigerian airspace is the most unfriendly and most expensive in the region.”

Also, Group Captain John Ojikutu, the immediate past secretary of the Aviation Roundtable, said given that aviation is traded in dollars, Nigeria should “find the economic way to reduce the value of naira against the dollar as it was in the 1980s and 1990s when it was N40/$.”

“An average airfare was N4,000 or $100. Fuel then was refined locally and not imported at forex costs. So don’t expect airfares to be less, plus the cost of imported fuel for one leg.”

Ojikutu also pointed at what he called security and fuel management, which added to the cost of operation for foreign airlines.

“How many of you know that most EU airlines have secondary security screening for international passengers and hold-baggage? Domestic airlines are complaining of fuel contamination; have you heard such complaint from foreign airlines? If foreign airlines are managing all these on their own, it is at a cost.

“Lastly, what are you doing for the MTN that pays service providers in naira to repatriate their naira earnings in dollars, which you cannot do for foreign airlines that pay for services in dollars to repatriate their earnings?”

Y  Lilian Ukagwu

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria has shifted the date to effect the new toll fare at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport from July 17 to August 1, 2023, The PUNCH learnt.

According to a statement by the FAAN management on Sunday in Abuja, the postponement was to allow airport users to enjoy more of the current charges.

The statement noted that the fare for cars will change from N200 to N300, while those of buses and Sport Utility Vehicles will change from N300 to N500 only.

It also added that the fare for trucks (six tyres) would change from N500 to N1,000 while those of trailer and container tariff would be N2,000.

The management urged the public to take note of the changes in the effective date and tariff.

It also appealed to all airport users that own vehicles to use the dedicated “park and pay” for car parks that had been provided for their comfort, noting that drop-off zones rules and regulations guiding movement should be respected to create free traffic flow to enhance a calm and serene environment around the airport.

The statement partly reads, “Commercial drivers are to use the drop-off zone to drop their passengers but not to engage in pick-up of passengers as the airport already has registered car hire services (FAAN TAXI, BOLT, UBER) situated along the airport exit way.

“There is an exclusive parking lot for heads of MDAs, MDs of private companies, and highly recognised individuals for their comfort as frequent fliers and their status in society.

“VIP parking stickers are also available for those who want to enjoy VIP parking privileges.”

The management commended the conduct of the airport users, urging them to always verify theirm “parking status and pay” where necessary before attempting to leave the airport.