The Founder of United Nigeria Airlines and spokesperson for the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, has criticized the multiple charges imposed by government agencies in the aviation sector, calling them a heavy burden on domestic airlines. He urged the Federal Government to take swift action to support local operators.

Okonkwo made this disclosure on Wednesday in Abuja during the 4th anniversary celebration of United Nigeria Airlines.

he however recognized that President Bola Tinubu’s forex policy and the newly signed Cape Town Convention have contributed to reducing operational costs in Nigeria’s aviation sector.

““I think that the foreign exchange policy of the Tinubu administration has been of tremendous advantage to the airline industry. Before he came into power, it was a nightmare for us to be able to convert the naira to foreign currencies to pay our obligations. We lost a whole lot of contracts.

“We lost a lot of vendors. Because you have your money stuck in naira in the bank, and you don’t get the forex that you need. You can’t even go and help yourself somewhere. So, it’s a different story. You don’t need to track funds like l mentioned for the foreign operators, the government has cleared that, almost a billion US dollars.

“It has opened up a new window for better relationships. Our reputation and integrity in the international aviation industry are better now. So we are happy with it.”

Okonkwo raised concerns about the rising issue of unruly passengers, linking it to flight delays and cancellations.

He stressed that delays are a global occurrence and urged passengers to stay calm while understanding their rights and responsibilities.

“I can tell you that another big challenge we have as operators is the passengers. The passengers whom we strive day and night to service and please are the same people who will turn around and become unruly for no just reason. They overemphasized the issues of delays. Delays happen in any part of the world but we need to work together with the press to educate the travelling public about their rights and obligations. We know what we owe them as operators.

“We overbend ourselves as operators to please them. We often do beyond what local flight operators do in any part of the world to satisfy our passengers but despite all that, their attitudes and behaviors put a lot of stress on the operators. Sometimes passengers beat up staff and also equipment is destroyed at the airports,” he added.

The Anambra-born business mogul urged the government to provide airline operators with access to reduced-rate loans and streamline multiple charges.

He emphasized that a key factor in the industry’s growth would be a government-backed program offering local operators single-digit interest loans.

“They need to cut down on the charges the operators pay different agencies of government, in all they are about twenty. The margin of this business is very low and if you have to meet all those charges to NCAA, NAMA, FAAN, you are left with nothing. It’s affecting us, we need to have more money to be able to develop, expand and then also improve the working environment for our staff.”