- Onyema noted that Nigeria’s airline companies will continue to struggle until the underlying issues and problems facing the aviation sector are addressed.
Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s largest flag carrier, Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has highlighted the challenges that airline companies face in the country, saying the aviation sector in the country is barely getting by.
Onyema noted that Nigeria’s airline companies will continue to struggle until the underlying issues and problems facing the aviation sector are addressed.
According to him, access to funding is the major albatross to the growth of the sector and delivery of excellent service as Nigerian banks attach stringent and cutthroat conditions to loans for airline owners.
He spoke at the 29th Annual Conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents themed: ‘Financing Aviation in Nigeria: Risks, Opportunities and Prospects,’ recently held in Lagos.
Onyema, who was one of the panellists at the event, said, “Whether you are involved in the administration of the airport or involved in airline operations, it is a capital-intensive industry. Unfortunately, in this part of the world, funding has become our albatross. That is why we do not need to start comparing Nigerian airlines and the airlines of the first world.
“I feel that Nigerian airlines should be given their place of respect because what they are doing is a selfless act. In aviation, you can run down your other businesses to ensure that your airline survives without help from anywhere. Out there in America and Europe, they borrow money at about two to five per cent; at most, five per cent.
“Over here, it is 35 per cent. Even while borrowing at that level, an airline can be told to dig its grandmother’s grave as collateral or sell its whole village as collateral. There are a lot of nuances, and these things have not really helped aviation. So, you see Nigerian airlines struggling. You have to amass a lot of wealth to go into operating an airline. The conditions given to airline operators by financial institutions are far from being helpful. However, we can not continue to talk about the problems. Let us talk about solutions.”
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