Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has said that airline operators within the country are experiencing a very difficult financial and economic times, such as had never been seen before.
NCAA, admitted that operators are in difficult financial positions following the galloping prices of aviation fuel, (JetA1) and the oscillating exchange rates of the Naira to foreign currency which has impacted airline operations.
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Director-General of NCAA Capt. Musa Nuhu, while speaking at a briefing, said the regulatory body was already carrying out intensive financial and economic audits on at least three indigenous airlines, while the others would be done in batches.
Nuhu, said, the number of scheduled domestic operators, has reduced to eight from 10 recently. The eight scheduled domestic operators in the country now are Air Peace, Arik Air, Max Air, Green Africa, United Nigeria, Overland, Azman Air and Ibom Air.
The NCAA Boss, expressed worries over the current difficult operating environment for operators, which was further escalated by the scarce of foreign exchange and the skyrocketing price of Jet A1, but said NCAA would not relegate safety to the background.
He said: “We are currently conducting financial and economic audits of airlines in the country. We have done two or three of the airlines and other airlines would be taken in batches. I will sit down and discuss with the management on the airlines on the way forward.
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“Like I said, we have a financial crisis and we don’t want it to cross over into a safety crisis. We need to manage the situation. For now, we remain focused, while working to address the solution to the financial difficulties in the airlines. This cannot go on forever. So, we are working around the clock to find a solution to the problem.
With the aforementioned some domestic operating airlines might have to shut down for safety and economic purposes just as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
