JULY 19, 2023

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.

JULY 19, 2023

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. 

JULY 20, 2023

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.

JULY 21, 2023

(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.

JULY 23, 2023

(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.

JULY 23, 2023

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?”

JULY 23, 2023

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.

JULY 26, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- In a bid to ease overcrowding and meet elevated demand, Delta Airlines Inc. on July 25 opened its second lounge at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport—a 14,000-square-foot space with a 360-degree bar and a sky deck, all just a few minutes’ walk away from its flagship lounge in the same terminal. 

SkyClub T4-A, as it’s being referred to, is located on Concourse A, whereas than the old lounge is in Concourse B, so it’s positioned closer to gates for domestic flights. As such, it’s set up for different passenger needs. It’s smaller than the Concourse B location, with capacity for 250 rather than the other lounge’s 550 maximum; it will be open from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily versus 4:45 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. at Concourse B. It also skips certain amenities, such as showers, that are used primarily by travelers on overnight or long-haul routes.  

In their place are features that better suit a short-haul business or leisure traveler. Four private, soundproof booths are designed for Zoom meetings, with enclosed doors and height-adjustable desks. A glassed-in, covered sky deck  with ample seating—both at communal tables and individual window-side chairs—acts like a weather-proof patio with sweeping views of the airfield that can be enjoyed, even if it’s raining. (Maybe especially if it’s raining, given that storm-related delays will force more people into the lounge.) As with its other lounge locations, the airline now offers real-time information on its app about the SkyClub’s occupancy levels, ranging from “not busy” to “extremely busy.” 

“Air traffic is at peak right now,” Claude Roussel, managing director of Delta’s SkyClubs division, tells Bloomberg at a media event for the opening of the Concourse A location. “We know that there are lines at some of our lounges, so we’ve been adjusting our policies and adding seats throughout the lounge system.” Earlier this year, he explains, the airline restricted lounge access to those customers whose departures are within three hours. “It’s had some good results for us,” he says.

Passenger volumes and lounge seats are growing in tandem. Delta has over 230 daily departures from JFK to 95 destinations this summer, part of a $1.5 billion expansion plan at that hub, which has been in development for the past year and a half. Roussel adds that Delta’s 10 new gates in Concourse A will feed additional foot traffic to the new lounge; this means that T4-A is not a solution for spillover traffic to T4-B, rather a lounge for an entirely different audience.

At the very least, good food awaits those who come. The menu comes courtesy of chef Elyssa Heller, founder and chief executive officer of Edith's Eatery & Grocery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with Jewish staples that include brisket hash sandwiches, vegetarian latkes and chocolate croissants. Around the buffet tables, white arches are meant to evoke the domes of New York’s Grand Central Station. And the bar serves up such signature drinks as  Espresso Martinis and Watermelon Fizzes. The in-the-round design, parked in the very center of the lounge, is a further way to optimize capacity and spread out the inevitable crowds. 

JULY 27, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- US airlines must install restrooms accessible to people with disabilities on the most-popular single-aisle jetliners under a new rule adopted on the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Department of Transportation, responding to growing complaints by advocates, announced the regulation on Wednesday. 

“Traveling can be stressful enough without worrying about being able to access a restroom. Yet today, millions of wheelchair users are forced to choose between dehydrating themselves before boarding a plane or avoiding air travel altogether,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release.

Widebody jets used on long-range flights already have such a requirement, but single-aisle jets such as Boeing Co.’s 737s and Airbus SE’s A320 family are increasingly flying for many hours, including on international routes, the DOT said. 

The requirement will be phased in over several years under the final rule. Newly built airliners with more than 125 seats must have lavatories large enough to accommodate people in wheelchairs after three years. Carriers will not have to retrofit accessible lavatories onto existing aircraft until restrooms are replaced. 

The rule also sets minimum requirements for specialized wheelchairs designed for maneuvering people aboard aircraft. 

JULY 28, 2023

Chinedu Eze writes that high airfares charged in Nigeria by international airlines could be traced to the lopsided Bilateral Air Service Agreements that was signed by the federal government, which does not protect Nigerian carriers and travellers.

It has become a cliché to say that Nigerian travellers pay the highest airfares to international destinations in West Africa and one of the highest in the world for any country that is not at war.

Recently, many observers linked the high fares to trapped fund of foreign airlines in Nigeria, which may have risen to $1 billion, but Nigerians have been paying relatively high fares since the last 20 years.

In November 2011, reports indicated that Nigeria fined British Airways $135 million and Virgin Atlantic Airways $100 million respectively for charging Nigerians outrageous fares. The former Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, alleged that the airlines were guilty of ‘abuse of a dominant position, fixing prices, abusing fuel surcharges and taking advantage of passengers’.

He said an investigation was carried out for several months, and it was found that the Lagos to London route had the highest ‘yield’ in the world.

“Many Nigerians have always felt exploited by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic and the then Director General of the NCAA stated it in clear terms accusing the airlines of “exploitation, “he said.

Of course, the two airlines resisted and defended themselves. In fact, they argued then that it was market forced that determined the fares they charged Nigerian travellers. The matter was later resolved and the two British airlines continued to operate to Nigeria.

Market Forces

Many travel agents will tell you that the high fares are determined by market forces, and that fares in Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic and Cameroon are far cheaper than Nigeria because more Nigerians travel and the situation is a matter of supply and demand. The agents will also say that due to the trapped funds, all the foreign airlines have removed their low inventories and now sell their high inventories; that is, for those that still sell tickets in naira because many of them sell in dollars. But it would have been a different situation if foreign airlines used to sell tickets at low fares to Nigerians in the past, but fares in Nigeria have always been higher than what could be obtained in neighbouring countries.

The BASA conundrum

Talking about demand and supply determining the fares, it is obvious that if Nigerian airlines are operating to Nigeria’s favourite destinations as well as the international carriers that come from those countries, fares charged on those destination would be competitive. They are high because those airlines have monopoly of direct flights to the destinations. Authoritative source told THISDAY that when Arik Air was operating to London as well as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, Nigerians were paying relatively lower fares and the fares rose by 40 per cent immediately Arik Air stopped flying to Heathrow, London.

Whenever Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) is discussed, many Nigerians tend to blame airlines and the countries that sign the agreement on behalf of their airlines, but travel expert and the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, told THISDAY that BASA remained open discussion and negotiation between two nations; that you don’t hold the other country responsible for your own failure. In other words, if you fail to negotiate well for your country and the other country took advantage of it, you don’t blame anyone but yourself.

THISDAY learnt that in negotiating for BASA and commercial agreements between a country and its airline (s), some countries, including African nations insist that foreign carriers can only operate to one destination and any multi-designation must involve partnership with indigenous airlines. Some would insist that increase in frequency would require that fares charged on a percentage of the seats should be paid to indigenous carriers or in the principle of reciprocity, if, for example, British Airways comes to Nigeria, a Nigerian carrier must also operate to the UK and the frequencies will also be agreed on.

But there is no indication that Nigeria gives any of these conditions while negotiating for BASA. In fact, what is obtainable, as narrated by inside sources, is a situation where foreign airlines come to Nigeria, operate a monopoly to their destination and increase their frequencies by meeting with officials at the Ministry of Aviation.

Uko said: “You cannot blame people when you fail to articulate your position. You have to decide what is important to you. What is our need? What do we want to achieve with aviation?”

Nigeria has the highest indigenous travellers in Africa but the country has not taken advantage of it. Last year, about 16 million people travelled in Nigeria. Out of that number, over four million who travelled were on in-bound and outbound international destinations. According to aviation experts, over 90 per cent of those travellers were indigenous Nigerians. This is not common in Africa, but the federal government has not taken advantage of that.

Protecting Nigerian Travellers, Airlines

Based on the lopesided bilateral agreements, foreign airlines determine fares and with high passenger movement, the airlines charge outrageous prices for their tickets. And because there are no clauses to enforce effective participation of local airlines in the bilateral agreements signed by Nigeria, they are sidelined in the scheme of things.

Recently the Chairman of Kings Airlines, Senator Musa Abebe and the Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, called for review of BASA by the federal government.

“They say Nigerian airlines do not have capacity; how will they have capacity when they are being decimated through government policies? So, the first reform will be to address the issue of BASA. We need to revisit BASA. We need to ban multi-city hopping of foreign airlines. That needs to stop with immediate effect. I am the vice president of AON (Airline Operators of Nigeria). We feel so discouraged that we are not being supported. At times you come and start comparing us to people who are receiving their loan with two percent interest and easily given. So, we call on government to support the indigenous carriers genuinely and they will make this country very proud,” Onyema said.

Former President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) and the Group Managing Director and CEO of Finchglow Holdings Limited, Bankole Bernard, told THISDAY that government needs to commit itself to the welfare of the citizens in terms of air travel because currently “government does not care whether price of tickets go up or not.

“In what ways have we positioned ourselves to benefit from our high passenger traffic? No local airline checkmates the high charges by foreign airlines through competition. For now, our problem has no solution,” Bernard said.

Inside source also told THISDAY that there was lack of commitment and patriotism among top officials of the Ministry of Aviation who negotiate bilateral and commercial agreements and who also designate frequencies and destinations for Nigerian carriers.

“Those who negotiate on our behalf do so with personal interest in mind. You will hear something like this: “If we allow you to fly two times daily and seven times a week, it will cost you and my boss likes your airline and he goes to Germany regularly. So, he will like it if you reserve business class seats for him and myself too. On our side, we will look at your request and do the needful,” the source told THISDAY.

Commitment

Seasoned industry consultant and the Managing Director of Flight and Logistics Solutions Limited, Mr. Amos Akpan said Nigerian government has to re-strategise her entire aviation development program, which will include reviewing bilateral air services agreements. He stressed that currently, it is not clear whose interest is served by the existing BASA arrangements, observing that Nigeria signs agreements that permit foreign airlines to carry passengers and cargo directly into and out of Port Harcourt, Lagos, Enugu, Abuja, Kaduna and Kano on scheduled flights.

Akpan disclosed that some foreign airlines operate seven to 14 frequencies per week to some of these airports without reprocity from Nigerian airlines, adding that these foreign airlines even carry passengers and cargo in between Nigerian domestic routes namely: Abuja-Kano, Lagos-Abuja, Abuja-Portharcourt.

“When other countries designate their airlines to Nigeria, our government institutions give them permit as required by existing agreements between the two countries. It behoves on the other countries to reciprocate when a Nigerian airline is designated to them. If they don’t, Nigerian institutions should respond with same measure. We are aware that some countries use regulatory agencies to create barriers for Nigerian airlines. For example, their airport authority may declare unavailable slots in the high traffic airport with connection flights. This sort of backdoor protectionism should be reciprocated by Nigerian agencies.

I am in support of free trade and free movement of people; and moreso,  serving the international travel needs of the Nigerian public. But do not say Nigerian airlines have no capacity so you tilt policies in favour of foreign airlines against our own. Where would we be in domestic air travels if private investors did not choose to establish and operate airlines?

“If the global yardstick to determine safety and quality of operations as set by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) for airlines is IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit), the major airlines in Nigeria have successfully completed the IOSA program. Our airlines like Air Peace, Ibom Air, Max Air, have demonstrated capacity.

“What Nigeria needs now is atleast one hub airport. Passengers and cargo need air links beyond Lagos and Abuja to other destinations. That is what Dubai, Heathrow, Doha, Bole, Schipol are offering. The numerous frequencies and the high traffic that foreign airlines are carrying is because passengers and cargo can connect other destinations through their home airport. Nigerian airlines need such infrastructure to build their capacity,” Akpan said.

Investment

He also explained that Nigerian airlines need investment funding at rates that will enable the management breathe financially while they continue to operate to repay. There must be monitoring to ensure compliance with required corporate financial practices.

“Most importantly, we need to build/acquire information technology packages to link our systems with other airline operators in the world. It is safe to conclude that Nigerian airlines are safe and operationally in tandem with standard acceptable practices, but the government policies do not favour them as business competitors with their foreign counterparts. For example, there is no reason the Nigerian mission in Cote d’voire should allow Air Peace be denied, by delay tactics, permission to operate Lagos – Abidjan – Lagos route, whereas Air Ivoire has been operating that traffic. The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace had to bring this to public notice in February this year. I hope this anomaly has been addressed.

“My point is that designation of airlines to use BASA is part of a deliberate strategic action to implement a country’s national economic agenda. It is not the protection or the projection of a partisan political interest, nor an ethnic religious interest. Nigerian government must see the designation of any Nigerian airline to another country as the exhibition of the Nigerian brand to the outside world. The relevant ministries and agencies must keep our national interest in perspective during negotiations and through the implementation of the operations. The airlines from your country, is as visible as your national team in international arena. That is how Emirates is to UAE, same applies to Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Qatar Airways,” Akpan said.

According to him, within Nigeria, Ibom Air is a classic show of Akwa Ibom state government’s brand in Nigeria, adding that Akwa Ibom State Government projects Ibom Air in and outside Uyo.

“Nigeria should not wait for Nigeria Air to be properly established before we designate some currently existing airlines and back them to compete on the international routes. When we designate an airline, Ministry of Foreign Affairs should see that the airline is accorded the rights and privileges contained in the existing BASA.  Currently, we expect that there is a desk in Nigeria mission in Saudi, China, India, UAE, South Africa, overseeing the affairs of Max Air in Saudi and Air Peace in the rest,” Akpan said.

So, government holds the key to redressing the lopesided bilateral agreements that facilitated the rip-off of Nigerian travellers and failure of Nigerian carriers to effectively compete on international routes.