The federal government has expressed readiness to partner and support the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, as soon as they are ready to raise the standard of services.
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, said this when members of the AON, led by Abdulmunaf Yunusa, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, 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 the government and airline operators stand.”
Keyamo noted that AON was critical to the growth and development of the aviation industry and the country at large, adding that the government was ready to help them operate profitably.
He assured of a possible review of all BASA agreements, and stressed the need for AON to renew and repair their fleets to encourage passengers’ patronage.
Among the challenges highlighted 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 urged that all current BASAs and Multilateral Air Service Agreements, MASAs be immediately renegotiated in accordance with the provisions of the Single Africa Air Transport Market, SAATM, with a focus on the reciprocity principle in favor of domestic carriers.
