Mark accuses NCAA, others of conniving with foreign airlines to hike air fare

Posted by admin Latest Politics, Legislature, Senate Thursday, March 29th, 2012

The Senate President, David Mark, on Wednesday, accused the aviation regulatory agencies in the country of conniving with foreign airlines to fix high air fares.

Specifically, Mark described the arbitrary price charged by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic as exploitative and unreasonable.

Senator Hope Uzodinma with 27 others in a motion entitled: “Violation of Aviation Laws and Practices by Foreign Airlines in Nigeria,” alleged that the conduct of the “British Airways and Virgin Atlantic actually translates to colossal loss of revenue by the Federal Government accruable from the statutory five per cent ticket sales charge, to the magnitude of $235 million or N3.7 billion, excluding heavy financial losses by travel agencies and Nigerian travellers.”

The Senate President, who spoke during the debate of the motion insisted that, “the prices given are completely out of range. It is unreasonable; it is exploitative and nobody should tell us to sit down here and not do anything about it because Nigerians are willing to pay.

“Our regulatory agencies have done absolutely nothing. In fact, they are part of the problem because they have been conniving with them otherwise they would have been the ones to raise the issue. They have watched helplessly; they have refused to act otherwise they should be the ones to force British Airways to look at what they are doing.”

He noted that the Civil Aviation Act 2006 required amendment, adding that it had not provided for reprimand of persons who flaunt aviation laws in the country.

The regulatory agencies in the aviation sector include the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA), National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

-Tribunewp_posts