Travel News

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

Ground handling companies and indigenous airlines in Nigeria are clashing over the introduction of a safety threshold ground handling charge despite the intervention of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

The acting Director-General of NCAA, Capt Chris Najomo held a meeting with both parties on Friday about the matter, but his intervention did not resolve the issue. He thereafter directed the airline operators and the ground handling companies to schedule another meeting.

Najomo also directed the parties to reach a truce on the issue on or before Wednesday, when another meeting is expected to be held on the issue.

Ground handling companies introduced a new tariff last year after reviewing the charge, which was last reviewed about three years ago.

It was gathered that the new charge was raised by about 200 per cent to bring the safety threshold fee at par with what was obtainable in many African countries.

If the new charge is effected, airlines may start paying between N200,000 and N300,000 as against the N70,000 for handling a Boeing 737 aircraft while handling a CRJ aircraft and some other aircraft may increase to between N150,000 and N250,000.

In the past three years, while domestic airlines had raised their fares by over 700 per cent, the reverse had been the case with the handling companies whose previous efforts to increase their handling charges were met with stiff criticisms.

The handling companies currently charge N70,000 for B737, and N50,000 for CRJ and Embraer, while Dash 8 is handled at N25,000 per flight, or their equivalent as approved by the NCAA three years ago.

The PUNCH further gathered that the airlines also lament over the skyrocketing operational cost and government multiple charges they incur.

Meanwhile, multiple insider officials who attended the meeting between the airlines, ground handling companies, and the NCAA told our correspondent that the indigenous airlines through their umbrella body, Airline Operators of Nigeria, expressed dissatisfaction with the increment.

They said the airlines claimed that they were not consulted by the handling companies before attempting to effect the new charge.

The airlines also decried the new handling rates proposed by the ground handling companies to be about 600 per cent.

It was further gathered that the handling companies at the meeting reacted, insisting that due consultations were done by the companies before the new charge was introduced.

They also claimed that the increment was less than 300 per cent, adding that the continuous drop of the naira against foreign currencies, among other reasons, necessitated their action.

The handlers declared that the various ground support equipment used for handling aircraft by the companies were imported.

The Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi, condemned the ground handling companies for arbitrarily increasing handling rates.

He warned that such an increase would cause havoc on Nigeria’s already fragile aviation industry and further deepen its challenges.

But, Chris Aligbe, an aviation consultant, debunked the claim of the ground handling companies forming a cartel neither did they engage in price fixing as purported in some quarters.

According to Aligbe, there are three handling companies in Nigeria, including Butake Handling Company, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc and Nigerian Avi­ation Handling Company Plc.

He said, “I am not aware of price fixing. The truth is that the ground handling companies are more than two and they are not cartels. There is a Butake Handling Company, it’s a small one, but it’s growing. So, the question of stopping other handling companies from coming in is not true.

“Again, I’m not aware that they are cooperating in prices. I know they charge different rates; they handle foreign and local airlines and their charges have not been the same. So, if I’m charging N400 and you are charging N200 and you decide to increase it to N300, yes, the prices will still not be the same amount. So, I can’t say they are into price fixing.

“And the question of a 600 per cent increase is again not true. I made some investigations and I know it is about a 300 per cent increment or so.”