‘ Support airlines or put lives at risk’

NIGERIA’S parliamentary committee on aviation has warned that airline operators are cutting dangerous corners in carrying out maintenance work on their aircraft due to their poor finances.

Chairperson of the committee, senator Smart Adeyemi, said the 4 billion naira ( R160 000) bailout given to the industry was inadequate and asked the government to review it.

“There’s danger in flying in Nigeria today. We must support the airlines operating in Nigeria. There’s need to review the bailout amount,” he said on Tuesday.

“The airline operators in Nigeria are ( barely) managing. Other countries are giving bailouts to airlines.”

Adeyemi said about 50bn naira was needed to rescue the airlines, which were hard hit by Covid- 19 travel restrictions. “This increase in bailout is imperative if we are to keep our economy running, guarantee job security and mitigate retrenchment.

“More definite measures have to be done to help the airlines respond to the impact of the Covid- 19 pandemic,” he said.

“As elected representatives of the people, we are mandated to take seriously any issue which may have adverse effects on the lives of the people we represent. Where we see red flags, we should immediately bring this to the attention of the people and, ultimately, the federal government.”

Adeyemi said safety in Nigeria’s aviation industry was reliant on the availability of spare parts and a conducive operating environment.

“As legislatures, we strongly advise the Nigerian government to run a taxfree, value- added process for all spare parts and commercial aircraft being imported to Nigeria.

“This will help in accelerating economic growth even in the face of a recession confronting nations of the world today, while helping the airlines stay afloat, with the end goal of ensuring the safety of passengers.”