Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says competition in Nigeria’s aviation sector will help reduce airfares as complaints about the high cost of domestic flights continue.
This was revealed by Keyamo during a live appearance on Channels Television yesterday night.
The minister said domestic aviation rates have already fallen significantly from the levels reported during the Christmas period and attributed the reduction to increasing competition among the airlines.
“You know what, How much did you spend on Christmas? Four hundred-something, five hundred thousand. What is it now? It’s a hundred and change. We are driving it down through competition. “We have thrown open the doors,” he declared.
Keyamo said there is an unprecedented growth in the number of airlines coming into the commercial aviation industry in Nigeria, stressing that new airlines are coming and are planning to operate in different parts of the country.
“We have not seen this sort of surge into the airline business, commercial airline business, like you have now, under the previous government,” he remarked.
He mentioned new entrants, like Enugu Air, and said that Caliphate Airlines was ready to resume operations in Sokoto.
The minister said the new airlines were being built on more sustainable economic models than in the past, when many domestic carriers struggled to survive.
“It is only the government of President Bola Tinubu that has taken it as a one-point agenda to support the growth and sustenance of local airlines,” Keyamo adds.
Responding to complaints over the expense of aviation fuel, Keyamo said the high price of Jet A1 was not within the purview of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development’s regulatory mandate.
Jet A1 was a petroleum product and consequently subject to the jurisdiction of the petroleum ministry, he said.
He stated he had met with the gasoline marketers and had discussions to resolve the issues around the aviation fuel pricing but maintained that he did not have the powers to regulate or fix the price of Jet A1.
He ascribed the recent steep rise in the price of aviation fuel mainly to outside causes, especially the situation with Iran, and said costs have begun to come down.
“The aviation sector is directly affected by the cost of aviation fuel but it is unfair to hold the aviation ministry solely responsible for an issue outside its regulatory mandate, the minister said.
Talking on the latest Enugu Air incident, Keyamo classified it as an isolated incident which he stated was caused by a slick runway.
He warned against jumping to conclusions until the inquiry into the incident was complete, stating that it was too early to give full facts.
An Enugu Air Embraer E170 aircraft from Lagos overshot and ran off the runway at the Benin Airport yesterday. All passengers and staff members were safely evacuated, none injured .
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria briefly shut the runway for safety checks after the event, while some domestic carriers suspended flights to and from Benin City until the facility was reopened.
Keyamo also disclosed a security failure in the recent private plane incident in Asaba.
He said the pilot and crew members of the American-registered plane were being held by the Department of State Services for questioning.
He added the government was also examining the concession of more airports which were not financially feasible as part of efforts to improve their efficiency and operations.
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