New Service Rates for Airlines Imminent

T continuous depreciation of the naira and steep rise in inflation, have prompted ground handling companies in the Nigerian aviation industry to review upward, the handling rates for domestic airlines.

Aviation Ground Handling Association of Nigeria (AGHAN), the umbrella body of ground handling companies in the country, in a meeting with the acting Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, recently in Abuja, said the review was inevitable with the current economic situation in the country.

THISDAY gathered from a letter made available by informed source that the handling companies were disconcerted by the impact of the unstable economy on their businesses.

The letter, which was addressed to NCAA was signed by three of its executives Mr. Olaniyi Adigun; Chairman, Ahmed Bashir; Vice Chairman and Prince Saheed Lasisi, Financial Adviser, and dated January 26, 2024, with the title: ‘Proposed Increase In Domestic Safety Handling Rate in Nigeria.

AGHAN in the letter proposed different rates for airlines, depending on the aircraft sizes.

For instance, the group proposed N400, 000 per flight for a Boeing 737 aircraft or its equivalent, N250,000 for CRJ or Embraer aircraft and N150,000 for a Dash 8 airplanes.

AGHAN proposed March 31, 2024 for the take-off of the new regime and sought the approval of the NCAA for full implementation of the new rates.

In a previous review midwifed by NCAA in 2021, before the further depreciation of naira, the rates were N70,000 for B737, N50,000 for CRJ and Embraer, while Dash 8 was handled at N25,000 per flight or their equivalents.

The letter declared that all the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) used for handling of aircraft by the companies are imported 100 per cent, lamenting that they have had to grapple with the consistent decline of the naira in the foreign exchange market for the past 24 months.

The body emphasised that on the domestic side, Lagos and Abuja flight ranges between N90,000 to N150,000 for an economy class ticket, while the business class ranges between N180, 000 to N250,000 depending on the airline, class of the ticket and the period the booking was activated by an air traveller.