The Minister of Aviation and Space Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, said the Federal Government has written to the United Kingdom to allow Nigerian airlines, especially Air Peace, to fly into Heathrow Airport.

The minister who was speaking at the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) seminar in Lagos on Friday said Nigeria will no longer allow the country’s airlines to be given tier one status at airports abroad in line with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). If Air Peace is not allowed at Heathrow, it could lead to Nigeria sending British Airways and other airlines to places like Ilorin, Kano and other unknown places.

He stated that in the absence of a national airline, the government would support local airlines and give them what they need to survive and succeed, saying: “We should have national airlines that will make us very proud and that will serve our mutual rights and the BASA that we have, but they must ensure that they raise the global standards and make us proud.”

His words: “We are working and collaborating with Nigerian airlines to ensure that they are supported. We have already written to the United Kingdom to give Nigerian airlines, especially Air Peace Heathrow Airport, a tier one airport, just like we have British Airways Lagos, our tier one airport. We can as well give BA Ilorin to fly to.”

“When we asked about Heathrow Airport, you said we had to go to a final committee. Who does that? Air Peace, I can tell you, is on its way to Heathrow, away from Gatwick.”

“We will look at so many agreements that we have that are not in the interest of our airlines. We have to support them to grow, but they have to show that they are capable of delivering on many of the agreements. Air France flies to Nigeria and no Nigerian airline flies to Paris. Lufthansa, Delta and a whole bunch of others, but no Nigerian airline flies to Frankfurt or the US.”

“South African Airlines flies to Nigeria and no Nigerian airline does the same. Nigerian airlines have limitations which is why there is a high mortality rate among airlines in Nigeria. Over 150 Nigerian airlines have gone extinct in the last 35 years which is very disheartening.”

The Minister disclosed that the aviation regulatory body, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has had to wait for airlines to come forward for renewal of their Air Operator Certificate (AOC) due to the difficult economic situation that has plagued the airlines for years.

The minister admitted that there are problems in the sector, but also noted that the administration is working to solve them one by one. He said that they cannot solve all the problems at once, but that they will first tackle the most serious problems.

Keyamo indicated that the government is focusing on aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for the local aviation industry. According to him, investors are already in talks with the government and are pleading to invest in the project, which will be on a PPP basis.

“We’re going to advertise soon and we’re going to call people with money. Don’t say foreigners are coming to take over your company. This is a big company. We need more MROs and it’s going to serve all of West Africa and Central Africa. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet. The Chinese are talking to us, the Europeans are talking to us. The financiers and the banks are talking to us. You can’t build an MRO in a facility that doesn’t exist because you have to taxi to it. They have to build it at an airport. Anyone who is building an MRO for the wide-bodies now is doing something. They have to talk to us so we give you land. We’re going to execute our master plan for the MRO. We’re not calling and begging you to come and make money. There’s money to be made here.”

The minister said a functioning MRO in Nigeria will save the country a lot of foreign exchange.

A former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, recently stated that airlines spend about $1 million on the maintenance of aircraft fuselages alone, not to mention the maintenance of landing gears and engines, which have different maintenance programmes.

The minister lashed out at those who accused him of interfering in the affairs of the bodies that had previously convicted him. He said he did not want to interfere and that he would therefore not refrain from expressing his opinion on matters that are detrimental to aviation safety.

“Tell all those aviation experts that I don’t interfere in the affairs of the authorities, but that I do intervene when things go wrong and that I cannot be held liable for doing what is right.”

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