The Federal Government has stated its readiness to collaborate and support the Airline Operators of Nigeria, as soon as they were ready to raise the standard of services.
This was made known by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, when members of the AON, led by Dr. Abdulmunaf Yunusa, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Tuesday.
Keyamo said, “I don’t want to operate as a ghost, I said one of my policies is to operate an open policy.
”I said bring up your challenges so that Nigerians would understand exactly where government and airlines operators stands.”
Keyamo observed that AON was vital to the growth and development of the aviation industry and the country at large, noting that the government was ready to help them operate profitably.
He assured of a possible review of all BASA agreements, and emphasized on the need for AON to renew and repair their fleets to encourage passengers’ patronage.
Among the challenges identified were foreign exchange, Jet A1 fuel, cost of capital and funding options, infrastructure, taxes, fees and charges as well as government policies.
AON, as part of its solution proposition, requested for licenses for Jet A1 importation and distribution through strategic partnership and an immediate review of all industry taxes, fees and charges.
The body also called for immediate renegotiation of all existing BASAs and Multilateral Air Service Agreements in line with provision of Single Africa Air Transport Market with emphasis on the principle of reciprocity in favor of domestic airlines.
