Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Med-View Airline Plc, Alhaji Muneer Bamkole, Senoir Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Air Atlanta, Mr. Baldvin M. Hermannssion and Director Sales Air Atlanta, Mr. Magnus Asgeirson at a press briefing on Monday.
While aviation is expected to contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria, it is however becoming clearer that Nigerian carriers may not be able to bring in the much anticipated contributions into the national Income because of the unfavourable operating conditions.
In addition, the airlines face stiff competition from their foreign counterparts who operate in more business friendly environment.
This was disclosed recently by the Chairman of Med- View Airways, Alhaji Muneer Bankole while briefing journalists on some of the recent challenges faced by the airline.
Speaking at the well attended press conference held at the Olowu Street, Ikeja Corporate headquarters of Med-View Airways, Bankole enumerated three reasons a Nigerian carrier must overcome before it could compete favourably with their European counterparts.
“Let me tell you this, Bankole said, “From this part of the world, it is absolutely difficult. Take my word for it, for you to compete with the big boys on the other side. There are three basic things you need to do.”
The three issues according to Bankole: are the resources to procure aircraft, non availability of maintenance facility where spare parts are readily available and maintenance promptly carried out in the country and the customs procedure.
According to him, to get access to foreign currency to procure aircraft is an uphill task in Nigeria because the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is not known to promptly address such request from airline operators. Bankole who also lamented the absence of a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in the country noted accessing maintenance facility with spare parts for aircraft remains a very big issue for airline operators in Nigeria.
He also explained that Customs procedures in the country is a major obstacle to allowing Nigerian carriers compete with those from other climes. According to him one still has to go pick things up, prepare your waybill; go through the procedure of getting parts. And sometimes gets approval s which are never honoured by the Nigeria Customs Service
“You do not have the resources to get aircraft of $50m. You cannot access dollars. I am still looking for $2.3 dollars from CBN to pay for lease of aircraft. Secondly, there is no place in this country or this part of the world where you have basic MRO where if anything happens to your aircraft and you assess it to get it maintained. There is no spare part vendor. When it happens, less than 24 hours that they can provide you an Aircraft On Ground (AOG) support and that is what keeps the aircraft flying. When an aircraft is AOG, there is no AOG support here; that is what is keeping the aircraft flying. When an aircraft is AOG, you know that somebody is there. In Europe, there platforms; If we have issues of spare parts, we have to wait scanning all over Europe, America asking them whether they have which parts or not, catch up a flight to London, wait for the airline. That aircraft will remain on ground. Thirdly, the customs procedure, you still have to go pick them up, prepare your waybill; you have to go through the procedure of getting your parts. Sometimes you get approval and at times they tell you that your approval is for specific period, “he explained.
The Med-View boss who however expressed optimism that the airline would continue to scale the huddles on its path, said Med-View has survived beyond the expectation of its critics.
“We are a victim today. Their thinking was that we will not last six months, today, we are over two years on London route. This exercise has made us so proud. We have a very good relationship with United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UKCAA), European Union members. I attended a meeting in Brussels and they said they were ready to support us. It is an open competitive environment. We have done well. We have left a mark and we are still there,” Bankole said.
