Air Peace Chairman, Allen Onyema, has warned that Nigeria’s aviation industry is facing an existential crisis, saying several domestic airlines could collapse within the next 30 days unless urgent measures are taken to address the challenges confronting operators.
Speaking on the sidelines of The Launch of Pathways,Pilgrimage and Destiny… the biography of The Chairman of Medview Muneer Bankole..
The Airpeace Boss said the controversy surrounding the remittance of the five per cent Ticket and Cargo Sales Charge (TSC) is that airlines are not opposed to paying statutory charges but argued that the current collection system is burdensome and requires urgent review.
He called for constructive engagement with government to develop a more practical revenue collection model, suggesting a fixed unit charge that would eliminate disputes over taxable components of airfares.
The Air Peace boss also condemned threats by labour unions to picket airlines over the dispute, describing the move as unprecedented and an attempt to intimidate operators.
He maintained that airlines have consistently engaged with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Ministry of Aviation, stressing that the industry has no dispute with labour unions.
According to him, Nigerian airlines are operating under extremely harsh conditions, citing high borrowing costs, infrastructure deficiencies, bird strikes and multiple operating charges as factors threatening their survival.
Onyema urged the Federal Government to urgently intervene to prevent further airline failures, noting that more than 50 Nigerian airlines have folded over the years despite the success of their owners in other sectors.
He expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu remains supportive of indigenous carriers and would not allow the industry to collapse, while calling for policies that will strengthen, rather than weaken, domestic airlines.
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