Nigeria: Minister reads riot act to foreign carriers

Recently, Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, warned foreign airlines operating in the country to desist forthwith from all forms of discriminatory practices against Nigerian passengers.

The minister, who handed down this warning during an interactive forum with representatives of the foreign carriers, said those unfair, deceptive and uncompetitive acts would no longer be tolerated by the Federal Government.

Among such deceptive practices she listed include; non existent promotions and published fares that can never be secured by passengers, all kinds of advertisements in the media without the mandatory scrutiny and approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) as well as all kinds of illegitimate surcharges loaded into ticket prices.

Her words: “These surcharges have absolutely no basis or justifiable reasons to be imposed, maintained or increased. We are currently investigating fuel surcharges and there will be very serious penalties for those who are found to have used them inappropriately”.

These surcharges, which she said had been used to load up the cost of travel outside the base fares, ‘are a way to cheat the Federal Government and local businesses in Nigeria since they are non-taxable.’

She equally described imposition of outlandish and discriminatory fares as contrary to what obtained abroad, lamenting that most airlines had in excess of 20-25 fare classes while only a fraction of such were available in Nigeria. Others are promotions that obtain abroad, but non-existent in Nigeria, as well as very poor on-board services.

The minister, however, insisted that since Nigeria market had been found to be the major one sustaining the mega carriers, the citizens of the country deserved a better treatment according to international best practices.

The Crucial Moment first congratulates the minister on her position, but in doing this, there is the need to draw her attention to some salient points which may have created loopholes through which the mega carriers willingly or unwillingly have their ways.

Well, thank God for the present regulatory body, NCAA, which has worked tirelessly to compel the foreign carriers to treat Nigerian travellers with respect.

There is no doubt that majority of the foreign carriers have seized the opportunity of the loopholes which have been on ground for years to rip off the country through the so many unethical practices they engage in.

It is on record that before the coming of the present NCAA management, most of the foreign airlines were found to have defrauded the country of several billions of naira through tax evasion.

Besides all these, let it also be known to the minister that there is the need for her to look inward especially into the activities of some people within the ministry as some of them had been found to have colluded with some of these foreign carriers to rip the country off.

It will still be recalled how Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, during his tenure as minister of aviation, cried out on how some officers in the ministry colluded with foreign carriers to grant them extra frequencies at the expense of Nigeria. It is, however, unfortunate that he could not expose them as he promised until his tenure expired.

Even outside the industry, there are some influential people in the society who are aiding and abetting the foreign airlines to treat Nigerians with disdain.

The issue which has become a cause for concern among Nigerians, especially the traveling public, requires urgent attention because the Nigerian market has continued to be a profitable market to the mega carriers.

It is at this juncture that Crucial Moment appeals to the minister to ensure the foreign carriers do give back to Nigeria and Nigerians what they deserve.

The foreign airlines should be made to know that Nigerians are not inferior to the citizens of other countries they pamper.

http://tribune.com.ng