- Nigerian Airlines Not Weak – Onyema
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, has said that contrary to speculations, Nigerian airlines are not weak.
He said the domestic carriers only required the support of the government to grow bigger and compete with their counterparts globally.
In a chat with journalists, Onyema said domestic airlines had been criticised unfairly by those who should support them to grow.
He said, “People have been fed with lies that domestic airlines are weak and cannot get it right. They have been told that there are a lot of gaps for the airlines to fill on the domestic scene and on the international level; that they are heavily indebted and will never be able to do anything.
“Those are lies. We are ready to succeed. It is not true that all Nigerian airlines are weak; what we need is the support of the government to move forward. We are not asking the government to give us money because it is the duty of banks to lend money to businesses. I won’t subscribe to asking government at any level to give money to airlines.”
According to Onyema, one crucial way the government should support domestic carriers is helping to play international aero politics.
He stated that government’s lack of interest in protecting domestic airlines was the reason for their high mortality rate.
“If the government supports us, we will get it right. The government should go out there and play international aero politics for us. It is true that Air Peace was given six international and 17 regional routes to fly, but nobody has asked why we have not started. It is one thing to get your government’s permission to fly to some countries but another for the country to permit you,” he said.
He lamented that several foreign airlines had started to originate their flights from Nigeria, further stifling indigenous carriers, while the government remained aloof.
“Air Peace has lost over N1bn in six months flying into the West Coast. Nigerian airlines are suffering; but some of their owners are succeeding in other businesses. The moment the government starts helping us, the domestic carriers will get it right,” he added.
While commenting on the suspension of the national carrier project, Onyema said the move would challenge domestic airlines to perform better, adding that it had restored the confidence of the international community in Nigerian airlines.
