Experts say that Nigerian aviation will continue to be holed up as long as all operators believe that they need to converge on the few viable high traffic routes, thereby keeping available equipment totally under-utilised while neglecting potential traffic.
This goes to explain why, in a country that boasts of millions of mainstream citizens capable of actively patronizing the sector, only a tiny minority travel by air, making the turnover for operators low and creating a steady decline in terms of viability and lifespan of airlines.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, rekindled this discussion at a forum in Lagos during the week. It flaunted data to show that about 40 registered airlines had collapsed in the last 15 years. A quick glimpse at the picture throws up names such as Associated Aviation, Allied Air, Hak Air, Kabo Air, Bellview, Sosoliso, Chanchangi, Sky World Express, Virgin Nigeria, ADC, Concord Airlines, IRS and Okada Air, among the list.
Nigeria’s high mortality rate in the aviation sector, which experts regard as a record in global aviation, is usually blamed on factors such as unfriendly business environment, non-viable routes, low patronage, multiple charges and lack of government support.
Looking at the country’s huge population shows that Nigeria easily has one of the lowest air traffic demands by any standards. For instance, the sector handled 11.3 million passengers in 2017, which is a dip from 12.2 million that it handed in 2016. This translates to the fact that less than seven per cent of the population travel by air, generally acclaimed as the fastest and safest mode of transportation in the country.
The problem has nothing to do with availability of facilities because there are 26 airports in the country. This means that almost each of the thirty-six states in the country has an airport or at least shares borders with one that has. The problem bothers on managing both the process and system of aviation in the country.
Aviation experts say there are tons of evidence to show that Nigerians in cities such as Sokoto, Jalingo, Jos, Markurdi, Minna, Yenagoa, Ibadan, Akure and Maiduguri that currently do not have airports are eager to travel by air. But they need to be encouraged to do so rather than making them wait for hours and days for flights, thereby experiencing first-hand the inadequacies in the available airports.
Economists will tell you that business thrives on Demand and Supply. They see no point taking a commercial plane to an airport where there is no guarantee that the load factor will break even as the popular routes such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano offer.
Airline operators usually consider the cost of fueling their planes. Simple calculation demands that revenue from ticket sales for each flight should enable the aircraft to do a frequency of two landings. Unless the operator is a Bill Gates, it will be hard to imagine how such an airline will remain in the skies.
