AON QUERIES MODALITIES FOR PURCHASE, DISTRIBUTION OF 30 AIRCRAFT

http://www.nigerianbestforum.com/blog/?attachment_id=122239 Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) the umbrella body of all domestic airlines in Nigeria yesterday said the Ministry of Aviation has not informed them officially that it is purchasing 30 aircraft for the distressed airline industry even as they queried the modalities for the purchase and distribution of the aircraft.

Alhaji Muhammed Tukur, Assistant Secretary General of AON told journalists yesterday in Lagos that even though they requested for intervention under the regime of former President Umaru Yar' Adua which led to the N300 billion intervention fund  two years ago, this time around, neither the Ministry of Aviation nor the Presidency has officially informed them of their plans, adding that they only heard of the Aircraft purchase in the media.

He said such plans should not be implemented without  carrying the affected operators and professionals along.

Tukur noted that for such plan to sail through, there was need to let the operators know the type of aircraft that will be deployed and the modalities for accessing such.

'It is unfortunate that we are hearing the news from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) which is not technically empowered to do so by civil aviation laws, even though, the idea is a good one, the ministry has succeeded in pushing it to FAAN , I want to use this opportunity to tell the minister to retrace, reorganise and repackage the whole thing because the airlines are the victims eventually.

'We actually requested for bailout but the Ministry is packaging another one but I am afraid, it is not being handled well', he said.

Speaking on the waiver on  aircraft and spare parts importation, Tukur decried that up till now, they have not received official letter informing the operators that parts importation now attracts zero tarrif.

'Up till now, Airlines pay 10 percent cash of the amount of a part imported to customs', he added.

Tukur, who lamented that some operators in the sector were bent of monopolising the system with what he called 'pull down syndrome', cautioned on the safety implications of such, advising others to be security conscious to arrest any eventuality.

'There is the danger of monopoly in the sector now, some operators prefer to pull others down by sending wrong signals against their colleagues, the implications may be far more than the benefits, such acts pose threat to safety of operations in the sector'.