Thelma Osatohanmwen
Aviation experts have raised concerns about the recent surge in airfares due to foreign exchange scarcity and other challenges.
Despite promises from the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, experts believe that inadequate policy implementation is hindering the industry’s progress.
The Aviation Industry and Domestic airlines have implemented strategies to increase the availability of flight seats, in order to tackle high cost of operation and boost revenue generated.
In an exclusive interview on Wednesday, it was revealed that, Susan Akporiaye, the President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, that airline owners are resorting to coping mechanisms, such as increasing airline capacity, due to the impact of foreign exchange scarcity on their revenue.
According to her, the purpose of offering lower-priced seats was to increase the average number of seats per departure, which would ultimately lead to reduced costs per seat.
She said, “Nothing has changed in the operating costs yet due to the fluctuating exchange rate, which is affecting our operating costs. The only thing that has changed is that airlines are beginning to release the lower seats now. Some of them have started releasing lower seats.
“Earlier, the airlines stopped selling off all the cheap classes and were only selling the expensive ones. The airlines had cut off all the cheap seats and were selling only the expensive ones because of the trapped fund issue but now that the rate of exchange is high. Most of them are releasing the cheap seats to get more revenue to remain afloat in the business,” she added.
Speaking further on the issue, the Chief Executive Officer, of Centurion Security, Group Capt. John Ojikutu, has urged the relevant authorities to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the commercial aviation sector to determine the financial stability of all airlines.
