SAN FRANCISCO, September 06, (THEWILL) – Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, Chairman of Arik Air, has urged the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement policies that will aid the survival of local airlines in the country.
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television, monitored by THEWILL, Arumemi-Ikhide posited that the local airlines were actually offering national service because the fares are the lowest in the world.
“Government policies, or central bank policies do not favour us. For example, the CBN said that 60 percent of foreign inflow should be for manufacturers,” he said.
“They’ve forgotten that the engine of any economy is air travel. Nothing is provided for us, we have to scramble like every other person.
“The same thing in the tax (system); the FIRS has a different rate for company tax, and airlines are seen as services, so by the time you finish, you pay almost 40 percent.
“So, its only air travel that we pay VAT, road transportation and others don’t pay VAT. So the stakes are against airline operators in Nigeria, from government.
“We have to source our forex and spare parts, all of us, all the commercial airlines. It’s really tough, and our fares are the lowest in the world.
“Let me say something, naira is now about 350 to the dollar, and if you look at Lagos to Abuja, it’s less than 35,000, that is less $100.
“There is nowhere you can get it. I consider that all my colleagues and I (are) doing national service.
“You don’t even get fuel; fuel prices are shooting off the roof. Before the flexible exchange rate was introduced, we were buying fuel for about N110 per litre.
“Now it’s N215 per litre and you can’t even get it. The situation in the country is not favourable to the airlines at all.”
THEWILL recalls that two local airlines, Aero Contractors and FirstNation, recently suspended operations due to challenging economic realities.
Story by David Oputah
