Air travellers rush to airports to beat Monday deadline as operators insist on shutdown

Out of the fear of getting caught up in the planned shutdown of operations across the country from Monday by the domestic airlines, thousands of air travellers have started rushing to the airports to make their trips to their various destinations before Monday.

This is just as the information reaching the public has indicated that some of the airlines have started notifying the public of their resolve to suspend their operations from Monday.

A statement issued by Aero Contractors had declared: “In view of the directive on suspension of flight operations of all airlines effective 9th of May, 2022, stipulated by AON, we regret to inform you that our flights may not operate as earlier scheduled. We assure you that airline operators are making every effort to see that flight operations are returned to normal very soon.”

Azman Airlines had earlier announced its flights’ suspension in line with the AON directives saying: “In compliance with the verdict of Airline Operators of Nigeria to discontinue operations nationwide from Monday, May 9th, 2022, Azman Air management will like to inform its esteemed passengers that all our domestic operations are now suspended till further notice.”

Many of the passengers who had earlier planned to travel from Monday were forced to reschedule their flights to last Saturday and Sunday (today) to avoid getting stranded as the Nigerian airline operators remain adamant on their plans to shut down their operations.

The development also caused a sudden increase in airline ticket sales as many passengers who had already booked their flights for later got new tickets while those who could not afford new tickets sought to reschedule their flights.

According to information gathered by the Nigerian Tribune, all the domestic airlines are operating at full capacity due to the rush by many passengers to beat the Monday deadline.

An airline worker who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to Nigerian Tribune that all the airlines have their flights including Monday flights fully booked indicating that tomorrow’s operations may not be affected.

It will be recalled that the operators under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) had at the weekend in a statement issued by its president, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina and signed by eight other airlines notified the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of their intention to withdraw their services over the unreasonable hike in the price of aviation fuel also known as Jet A1 and other sundry issues which have led to high operational cost.

The threat by the operators sparked up confusion in the industry with concerns being raised about the fate of intending passengers who have already bought tickets and set to travel to from Monday.

Amidst all pleas from the minister, National Assembly, and National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) to the airlines to rescue the shutdown plans, the operators have declared that they were not going back on their plans.

A fresh statement issued by the operators which was signed by seven operators titled: “AON remains resolute on the decision to suspend operations” and dated May 7, 2022, declared: “In the light of frantic developments within the last twenty-four hours since informing the general public of our decision to suspend operations in response to the astronomic and continuously rising cost of JetA1, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) would like to state unequivocally that we stand firmly by our decision.

“Airline operators are patriotic citizens and we are doing all we can to protect the flying public contrary to what some subjective schools of thought might suggest. This is a collective sacrifice for the common interest of our nation.

“AON however regrets the unfortunate position taken by one of our members, Ibom Air, not to stand by the collective decision. While they may have their reasons for doing what they did, it is pertinent to note that they equally accepted in their statement that the JetA1 situation poses an ‘existential threat to the air transport industry in Nigeria’ and that ‘the out-of-control situation is simply unsustainable.’

“May we use this medium to clearly state that; ‘Airlines are not on strike. We are private investors who do not run our airlines with public funds to be able to continue to pay upfront in cash at N700 per litre for JetA1 which has increased our cost on daily basis to about 95%. This is totally unsustainable. And its consequences, if allowed to stay, will be borne by the passengers; which is what we are trying to prevent.

“To this end, therefore, we remain resolute in our resolve to find a lasting solution to this crucial problem of national emergency and once again use this medium to appeal to the conscience of our esteemed passengers for their understanding.”

The minister of aviation in his plea to the operators, while assuring that efforts to assuage the situation were ongoing, had urged them to consider the multiplier effect of shutting down operations, on Nigerians and global travellers, in taking their business-informed decisions and actions.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila had equally expressed his worries over what he called the reoccurring aviation fuel crisis in the country, vowing to lead the members of the lower chambers to take far-reaching decisions on the matter as soon as possible to ensure that the problem was permanently rested.

The NANTA, in the same vein, has appealed to the federal government to wade into the airlines’ challenges, saying: “We cannot afford another COVID-19 look-alike regime where Nigerians cannot move freely about out of their own, simply because airlines cannot operate due to poor operational environment.”

The airlines that declared no going back on the shutdown are Azman, Max Air, United Nigeria Airlines, Air Peace, Arik Air and Aero Contractors while Ibom Air had earlier dissociated itself from the action just as Green Africa stood aloof. (Sunday Tribune)