The Federal Government has initiated steps to enable Nigerian airlines to secure direct access to international routes, including the United States and South America, according to Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
In an interview titled “Unfiltered: The Big Interview” with O’tega Ogra, Keyamo revealed the government’s plans to bolster local airlines’ capabilities to operate on these lucrative international routes. This interview was viewed by our correspondent on Saturday.
Keyamo highlighted that the government has begun addressing Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) to ensure Nigerian airlines can operate these routes. He emphasized that fair competition, rather than a monopoly, is crucial for reducing airfare costs.
“BASA are negotiated between different sovereigns. So it is when you get your BASA and your reciprocal rights, you can now give it to your local operators and ensure that they are enforced as per the foreign entities. We knew that competition is the key to bringing down prices in any market, not a monopoly,” Keyamo stated.
Air Peace recently launched its Lagos-London flight services on March 20. Keyamo noted that similar efforts are underway to facilitate Nigerian airlines’ operations on American and South American routes, which have seen little to no service from local carriers.
“British Airways have enjoyed those routes for many years unchallenged. Previous attempts by local airlines to run these routes were thwarted. As a result, Nigerians were paying exorbitant prices for tickets. We saw this as an issue we could resolve,” Keyamo said. “We enforced the BASA, and when Air Peace started flying these routes, ticket prices began to dip. Now, we are looking at the American and South American routes.”
Keyamo stressed the importance of enhancing local airlines’ capacity to service these new routes. He pointed out that providing access to routes is one thing, but ensuring the airlines have the necessary resources and aircraft to operate effectively is another.
“One thing is to give them the routes, but how do we enhance their capacity to service those routes? One way is to ensure they have access to aircraft similarly to how major global airlines do. Many airlines lease rather than purchase their fleets. We must ensure our local carriers can do the same,” he explained.
