The International Air Transport Organisation (IATA) has said that the federal government of Nigeria was hampering airline operations with multiple taxes.
Vice president, IATA Africa and Middle East, Kamil Al Alwadi, who said this at the 7th Aviation Africa summit and exhibition Wednesday in Abuja, said the situation stunted the nation’s aviation industry’s growth.
Alwadi said research has shown that Nigeria ranks highest in airport charges in Africa, saying Abuja airport is the most expensive airport in Africa followed by the Lagos airport.
He noted that expensive fuel, excessive charges, leasing and insurance going through the roof, it would be difficult for the airlines to be financially viable.
He said the airlines contribute to the country’s GDP but Nigeria needs to decide what to do for them to survive.
According to him, carriers based in Africa are expected to generate a moderate combined loss of around $484 million in 2023 because the continent remains a difficult market in which to operate an airline, with economic, infrastructure and connectivity challenges impacting the industry performance.
“However, despite the challenges, the industry continues to move towards profitability following the COVID disruption and could be in the black as soon as next year.
“Underpinning this is the robust demand for air travel. As we saw in the second quarter of 2023 – and for two consecutive quarters – African carriers had one of the world’s highest annual passenger traffic growth rates, second only to Asia Pacific.
“With total traffic up 38.9% compared to the same quarter in 2022, African carriers growth outperformed the industry-wide average for total and international traffic, even though the region has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Q2 2023 RPKs were 9.2% below the same quarter in 2019.
“Despite this continued positive performance, the region still confronts economic challenges that severely limit the affordability of air travel, in addition to a range of infrastructure issues that curb capacity and hinder the development of consistent air service,” he said.
He therefore urged the government to create an enabling environment for airlines to thrive.
