Operational capacity of Nigerian carriers on the regional and international routes, have dipped by over 60 per cent in the last one year.
Data from Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has revealed that Nigerian carriers operated 1,070 regional and international flights between January and March 2016, the figure dropped to 402 flights in the first quarter of 2017.
Only five consisting of Arik Air, Med-View, Aero Contractors, Dana Air and Air Peace, out of the eight active airlines, operated regional and international flights in the last one year.
Med-View had however, disclosed that it would commence flights to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the most routes used by Nigerian travellers by July 4, 2017.
Presently, about 95 per cent of international travelers are airlifted by 26 foreign airlines, as Arik Air became unavailable on the international scene, following the suspension of its London, New York and Johannesburg flights, leaving Med-View as the only indigenous carrier flying internationally, with its London-Gatwick flights.
Meanwhile, on the regional scene, Dana Air and Aero Contractors suspended their flights to Accra, while Air Peace only took up one of the slots in February when it commenced flights to Kotoka International Airport, Ghana.
NCAA statistics shows that local carriers airlifted 82, 411 and 91,995 inbound and outbound passengers at regional and international levels in the first quarter of last year (January-March), the figure dropped to 21,322 and 29,288 inbound and outbound in the first quarter of the 2017.
