Concerns over lack of investors for new national carrier

It has been 19 years since Nigeria Airways went into liquidation. The regime's president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Ret'd), has begun moves to establish a new national carrier amid concerns raised by key stakeholders, Funmilayo Fabunmi reports

Nigerians have had to wait endlessly for the establishment of a new national carrier and stakeholders are questioning how long it will take the Federal Government to deliver the project which has suffered several years of delay for various reasons.

The flag carrier, i.e. the national airline of a country, registered locally under a given law and enjoys preferential rights or privileges granted by the government for international operations.

As Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika strives to revive a new national carrier before the end of the year, stakeholders and industry experts familiar with the project said it might not see the light of day, at least not under the administration led by Buhari.

Some experts and stakeholders have questioned the timing and need for a national carrier, calling it unnecessary. Others expressed hope in the ability of the current administration to speak out against the national carrier even as the campaign and elections are fast approaching.

While congratulating the interim management of the flag carrier led by Captain Dapo Olumide on obtaining his air transport license from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, aviation expert and director General Manager of Finum Aviation, Sheri Kiari said, "After getting an ATL, you can now start all five phases of the AOC. So if in the last one or two months the ATL was out and people were working very hard, we should expect them to wrap up the AOC maybe in September or October and then they can start flying.

"They say they have ATL and AOC running at the same time. Well, we don't know how they did it, but we can't identify and say that's when they're done and now they're going to start flying. But as far as I'm concerned, I don't see them starting to fly until October."

Aviation expert and head of research at Zenith Travels, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo, agrees with Kiari, noting that the time, work and detail required to obtain a an AOC could hamper the national carrier's initial launch date.< /p>

According to Ohunayo, "They have the ATL, all that remains is to obtain the AOC. For that, we are talking about a minimum of one year. I don't know how they want to finish it before this regime leaves because you know once the elections start everyone and even the government will be focused on it and after the election you will have the handover now will investors be interested in invest in a government that ends next year?

"Time is pretty short and I doubt they can find any credible investors who would want to invest right now. Well we need more airlines, airlines can band together and become a national carrier. We can even have national carriers or national carriers, but it depends on the policy of the government of the day."

He also expressed his displeasure with the decision to get a national carrier for the nation, saying, "I personally am not for a national carrier that protects a set of investors against another set of investors who are already in place because they have a 'national carrier' title.”

Aviation expert and CEO of Centurion Aviation Safety and Security Konsult John Ojikutu said, "Is it a flag carrier or a government carrier? Who are the shareholders, why is it so hard to be open about partners? If it's a national carrier, who are the partners, why don't they have a name? As far as I'm concerned, this airline won't work. "If we continue like this, I'm not optimistic. As we haven't done this for the past four years, I don't know what we will do in the next few months that will change things."

Aviation industry player and former COO of IRS Airlines, Captain Ken Wemambu, on the issue of getting an AOC in time for the flag, said: "I don't don't work for Nigeria Air but they do their job very well Captain Olumide had mentioned it was happening at the same time so I don't think it should be a problem they follow their process and it's normal that the AOC supports the actual process.

"AOC is what sets the standard of what is going to be tomorrow and Nigeria Air will be flying to different parts of the world. When AOC is in progress, aircraft documentation, programs and maintenance procedures, flight schedules, training, everything must be reviewed by the CAA before certificates are issued, so it's not a question of r...