– Thousands of workers in the nation’s aviation sector
may soon lose their jobs due to the economic recession
– Airlines’ operators are groaning under the weight of
economic challenges
– Over 400 pilots including expatriates, 1,200 crew
members and more than 1,000 travel agents are at risk
The economic recession currently ravaging Nigeria has
affected the aviation sector and there are possibilities of
massive job loss.
According to a report by The Guardian, Bristow
Helicopters, Caverton, Executive Jet and others have
already trimmed their workforces, citing low patronage.
Sources at Bristow Helicopters quoted disclosed that
about 400 workers have been laid off, including pilots.
Caverton Helicopters also reportedly posted a loss of
over N2 billion in the first half of the year.
The decision of the aviation companies have prompted
calls by operators and travel agencies for a declaration
of a state of emergency in the Nigerian aviation sector.
In response to the crisis in the sector, the federal
government has pledged it would rescue the country’s
distressed domestic airlines.
Minister of state for aviation, Hadi Sirika, said
yesterday, September 7 that government was aware of
the numerous problems in the sector and will double
efforts to address them so thousands of Nigerians
won’t lose their jobs.
Sirika made the comments at a two-day meeting with
stakeholders in Lagos, where he reiterated that aviation
remained central to government’s plan to revamp the
economy and boost employment.
In attendance at the meeting were representatives of
Aero Contractors, Assets Management Corporation of
Nigeria (AMCON), and aviation workers’ unions.
The Airline Operators Association of Nigeria (AOAN) and
National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies
(NANTA) were also part of the parley.
They expressed concern that the remaining five
domestic airlines were heavily indebted and were
running fleet sizes below what was approved by
regulatory authorities.
During an emergency session with the Senate
committee on aviation, yesterday, the AOAN asked the
federal government for a special intervention fund to
stay afloat.
Speaking on behalf of the operators, the chief executive
officer of Arik Airline, Chris Ndulue, regretted that the
harsh economic environment in which they were
operating had gone from bad to worse.
At the moment, less than 30 aircraft make up the total
fleet operated by domestic airlines. This represents over
50 per cent cut from 65 serviceable aircraft in operation
some years ago.
“No airline is operating today at optimum. Everyone is
down to 50 to 60 per cent capacity. Everyone is operating
at a very tight margin. Government has shown support by
making spare parts duty-free, but there is a whole lot that
still needs to be done,” Captain Nogie Meggison,
chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria said.
NANTA President, Bernard Bankole, noted: “The issue is
alarming and it calls for a state of emergency. We don’t
have to wait till it collapses before we take action. Over
3,000 jobs are threatened while airlines are withdrawing.
While other countries are surviving on aviation alone, ours
is worsening. Government needs to do something
urgently.
Meanwhile, First Nation Airways has denied insinuations
that it has ended its operations. The airline has
promised to return to normal scheduled flight operations
by Thursday, September 15.
The management says its current fleet is undergoing
engine maintenance for safety operations.
There were fears that the airline might have shut down
its operations due to the economic recession currently
being experienced in the country.
The rumours also came at a time another airline, Aero
Contractors announced that it was suspending its
operations.
In a related development, Fourteen (14) airlines recently
withdrew
0 comments:
Post a Comment