By Kenneth Ehigiator
LAGOS — Some stakeholders in the nation’s aviation sector, yesterday, tasked the Federal Government to take to its logical conclusion ongoing efforts to review Bilateral Air Services Agreement, BASA, with other countries and address price-fixing by foreign airlines, especially British carriers, in the interest of the local industry.

According to the stakeholders, the government must not relent in these efforts until success is achieved.

Former DC-10 pilot of defunct Nigeria Airways, Capt. Tito Omaghomi, said government had done well so far in making efforts to stop particularly British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways from further exploiting Nigerians through arbitrary fares.

He added, however, that such efforts would come to nought, if they were not followed through to ensure that the two airlines and other foreign carriers force down fares to reflect trends in global aviation market.

He told Vanguard yesterday: “You see, I have been justified in standing by the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, when unions in the industry kicked against her appointment because she is not an aviator. She has shown to the world that she can do what others have not been able to do for a long time.

“She has taken the bull by the horn. I think she should be commended and encouraged. Government is now doing what it should have done some 10 or 20 years ago. This country has lost so much money to these airlines through high fares and double designations. They fly into the country through Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, ripping off the country.”

Omaghomi alleged that efforts by British Airways to use prominent British and Nigerian citizens to frustrate government’s efforts at righting the wrongs of the past had failed, advising the two British airlines to do the right thing.

On his part, former leader of National Cabin Crew Association, NACCA, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, said Nigeria had finally shown that she could bite, but was quick to advise government to sustain current tempo until the airlines did the right thing, adding: “The British authorities needed a bite from a country that has been barking over the years; the bite was sudden and effective.

“The British authorities and most EU countries have reversed this principle to protect legacy or flag carriers using factors such as fleet size, financial muscle, and nationality clause e.t.c, codified as grand father rights. This protection has given them the impetus to discriminate and increase fare arbitrarily.

“It’s a new beginning and I hope the government will go ahead to review other lopsided agreements. The NCAA has gone further with the issue of discriminatory fares on the London route, they have imposed fines on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic after a painstaking investigation, that’s another plus for the country, while we wait for their responses, the NCAA should go further, by extending the investigations to other routes.”

He alleged that when Virgin Atlantic Airways’ Chairman, Sir Richard Branson, visited the country while pressing for a second dsignation of his airline to fly into Port Harcourt, beside Lagos, he promised to crash fares on the London route, stressing that was yet to be actualised several years after.

According to him, the airline, rather than crash fares, had joined the train of those charging arbitrary fares on the route.

Ohunayo said: “Their flamboyant chairman came, danced, wore our traditional clothes, got his airline the second designation with bogus promise of crashing fares on the London route, alas it’s colluding to discriminate that we got from the dual designation.

“They have not been able to bring down fares; rather they bled Virgin Nigeria’s London flight by sending them to Gatwick to feed the mother instead of vice versa and are currently angling for an open skies agreement with the federal government.”

Efforts to get the reaction of former House Committee Chairman on Aviation, Kanayo Oguakwa, failed, as he opposed to reacting through the telephone, noting: “I don’t grant interviews on the telephone.”

-Vanguard

Posted by admin on Dec 7 2011. Filed under Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry