The Director General of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Umar Farouk, has said that the N11,000 charged by airline operators in the country per flight is no longer feasible given the current economic realities.
Farouk stated this in Abuja on Tuesday while addressing stakeholders at a summit organised for the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation.
The summit dwelled on the theme, “Emerging trends in global aviation: sustainability, technology and digital transformation.”
While noting that the charge had been in force since 2008, Farouk said, “In 2008, NAMA was collecting N11,000, and I need to explain this so that the public out there will understand.
“When I say N11,000, it’s per the whole flight, I’m just giving an example. Like from Lagos to Abuja, we are charging N11,000 for the whole flight. That means, irrespective of the number of passengers there, we are not charging per passenger.
“From 2008 to date, you and I know that they are collecting almost N150,000, or it’s hovering between N150,000 and N200,000 economic ticket, and yet we are still where we were, N11,000.
“Given the fact that we are cost recovery agents, we are supposed to recover from what we have invested. We’ve invested hugely in procuring improved landing systems, surveillance systems, and communication systems, and yet we keep modernising.
Let’s just recover what we have invested in their own services so that safety is not compromised. Unfortunately, the airlines want to continue paying peanuts while they are charging the right, appropriate fare for their services. But they don’t want to pay the appropriate fees for our charges.”
“We keep moving with the technology so that we will not be left behind, and yet you are still paying us peanuts. I think the world needs to know, and the airlines need to face the reality of life. We cannot continue this way.”
On the effort made so far, the NAMA boss added, “We have made several attempts to draw the attention of the airlines. There’s a need for us to sit down. It’s been a part of our requirement that we should engage them, discuss with them, and let them see the reason why we must review these charges.
“The truth of the matter is that the airlines have not been fair to the agency because we are not a charity organisation. We are a cost recovery agency, and yet, they have been responding to economic prevailing circumstances, economic situation, and yet they don’t want to understand that we also go to the same markets. We procure this equipment hugely, and, therefore, there’s what you call cost recovery.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Abdullahi Garba, described the retreat as a partnership vital to the shared mission of improving the Nigerian aviation sector.
Represented by the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Festus Akingbaso, the lawmaker said, “Our goal is to develop actionable plans and reinforce priorities that enhance aviation safety, infrastructure and regulatory compliance.”
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