The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has revealed that airlines in the country are facing various challenges, part of which are foreign exchange (FX), and sustainable revenue.
Speaking on the challenges plaguing players in the aviation sector, Director-General, NCAA, Musa Nuhu said a significant number of airplanes operating within the shores of the country, have been grounded because of their operators’ inability to carryout adequate maintenance.
According to Nuhu, aside from the FX and sustainable revenue issues airlines face, they as well operate under harsh conditions defined by a hike in aviation fuel.
“When I say the industry, it also includes the agencies in the sector. We also suffer from the same issues you (airlines) suffer. Issues of revenue, and foreign exchange, we all suffer.
“The NCAA has started the process of conducting the financial performance and status audits of the industry, starting with the airlines and we’ve done five so far and it makes us get the very best picture.
“We can see the difficulties and the challenges the airlines are having. We are all aware of the astronomical increase in the cost of JetA1 (aviation fuel). The international price is increasing, at the same time the naira is devalued. So it is double jeopardy.”
“Even the foreign exchange is not readily available and the airlines are facing difficulties in getting it to do their transactions for training, maintenance, spare parts, etc.
“So a significant number of fleet in Nigeria is grounded, awaiting maintenance. We are all aware and we are not insensitive to the position of the industry,” he added.
