GONE are the days “The Eagle”, as Nigeria Airways was known, dominated the skies. It was a period the airline single handedly provided air travel to the teeming Nigerian fliers.
It was also the period, long before the airline industry was liberalized, the carrier filled in the gap very well to project the country’s image far beyond the shores of Africa to the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
This was the period before the likes of Okada, Bellview, Kabo, ADC and many other carriers flew the nation’s flag and provided excellent air travel services before problems set in, which invariably ended or crippled their operations.
At that time, Okada Air, with its over 28 airplanes, was synonymous with aviation after Nigeria Airways showed signs that were not too encouraging for an airline.
Bellview and ADC shortly after the demise of Okada showed some signs of promise. These carriers, especially Bellview were designated on lucrative London route and at some time operated to Amsterdam. ADC on the other hand dominated the West Coast.
The carrier was equally granted the right alongside Virgin Nigeria/Air Nigeria to operate to America, Johannesburg and London, but it could not fulfill that obligation due to the Lisa crash of October 22, 2005.
The accident was a setback for the airline coupled with the harsh operating environment for the airline operations in Nigeria, which persists till today.
This situation left Nigeria in a situation with no airline to fill the gap until Arik Air ‘’bulldozed’’ its way and changed the landscape with state-of-the-art machines. These forced other carriers to raise the ante in 2006, matched with focused leadership of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority under Dr. Harold Olusegun Demuren.
In no time, Arik scaled all safety and regulatory hurdles and was used as the “Guinea pig” for the certification of the sector. It culminated in the granting of the U.S. highest aviation safety status (Category One) after the devastating Bellview and Sosoliso crashes that happened in quick succession.
Since then, Arik aside the lucrative New York, London and Johannesburg routes, the airline is opening new frontiers around the globe.
The above is a preamble of how Nigerian airlines have struggled and thrived to take part in the huge opportunity associated with international route operations.
A new entrant into the airline business, Medview Airlines was recently granted permission and designated by the Ministry of Aviation to Singapore via Lagos-Jeddah with a new wide-body aircraft.
The airline had on July 17, 2013 applied to the NCAA commence services to Jeddah, Singapore aside Dubai, Jeddah, Libreville and Accra, Ghana routes it intends to service.
Medview said it would begin services to these international routes on four frequencies for now until the market grows.
Speaking to The Guardian, the Managing Director of the airline, Muneer Bankole disclosed that already, the carrier had taken delivery of B737-500, adding that B737-800 and B767-300 were some of the aircraft that were equally awaiting delivery in a couple of weeks.
Experts were of the opinion that huge capital flight could be minimised if these Nigerian carriers had put their acts together to provide quality services on the international routes they were designated.
They argued that the call for a national carrier, championed by the Minister of Aviation would not have been necessary had the airlines done what were required of them.
Not a few supported the idea of a national carrier but the very unclear arrangement about the project has dampened confidence about the whole set up.
Whichever way one looks at it, Nigeria deserves a national carrier to operate side by side other designated flag carriers like the case of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Although, BA is a privatised airline of Britain, the government still has little shares that give the airline the protection it requires.
There is surely an urgent need to create at least one international airline brand like the Ethiopian Airlines that is reputed as one of the few successful carriers in sub-Saharan Africa, plying 62 international and 16 domestic routes and regarded as one of the fastest growing airlines in the world.
On the other hand, Virgin Atlantic Airways is the brainchild of business mogul, Sir Richard Branson. It is a fully privatised carrier with Singapore Airlines said to own majority shares. The carrier has continued to flourish and it is still breaking more.
For those who are skeptical about ‘Nigeria One’, the new name for the proposed airline, their fear stem from what they described as the Ministry of Aviation’s ‘bogus project’ with no clear-cut policy direction.
To them, improving safety, having modern, well-run airports, reducing heavy taxes and levies and partnering investors to build infrastructure such as maintenance hangars are the first steps urgently needed to rescue the troubled aviation sector.
The Guardian
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