Hundreds of passengers of
Nigeria’s biggest airline, Arik Air, were left stranded at airports across the
country and beyond on Tuesday because of suspension of flight operations by the
carrier.
The
Punch report continues:
Arik
is having problems with the renewal of its insurance policy.
At
the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport, Abuja, it was observed that all the ticketing and
reservation stands of the airline were closed and customers were directed to
other carriers.
Airport
officials told one of our correspondents that the carrier had been having
issues for some time and that these were affecting its smooth operations.
The
airline said in a statement that the development was caused by documentation
issues relating to the renewal of its insurance policy.
It
said the delay in renewing the insurance policy was caused by the two-day
holiday, which was declared by the Federal Government to celebrate the
Eid-el-Kabir.
Arik
said the suspension of flights might continue for the next few days until
the approval of a waiver on a priority basis by the National Insurance
Commission for a new insurance company to renew the policy.
It
added that during the period of the disruption of operations, the management of
the airline would be working hard to resolve the necessary documentation
issues.
The
statement read in part, “Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline,
has alerted all air travellers of a temporary disruption to its operations
pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal. The
airline said that it was working around the clock to resolve the necessary
documentation, which has been a challenge due to the long weekend holidays.
“At
the present time, all flights of the airline have been cancelled for Tuesday,
13 of September, 2016, and the airline has stated that it would be getting in
touch with passengers to provide an update on rescheduling of their flights.
“This
situation is likely to continue for the next few days until such time that
NAICOM approves a waiver on a priority basis for the new insurance company to
renew the policy.”
The
airline however advised its customers to visit either its website or any of its
ticket offices to know the status of their flights before proceeding to
airports.
Arik
Air’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, said, “The
airline wishes to advise and assure the public, its customers, stakeholders and
partners that we are fully committed to returning to our normal operations and
minimise any unfortunate inconvenience to our passengers.
“Where
flights have been cancelled, the airline will notify passengers through SMS and
in such cases, passengers will be accommodated on first available alternative
flights as soon as normal flight operations resume.
“The
Group CEO apologised and appealed on behalf of the airline for the
understanding of passengers, while it works diligently to resume normal
operations at the earliest time.”
The
Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations kick against any airline operating an aircraft
that has insurance issues.
Part
18.11.2 of the regulations dealing with aviation insurance states that “no
person shall operate any aircraft in the public air transport category without
adequate and valid insurance cover.”
Part
18.11.2.2 of the regulations states that “any person having a duty to maintain
adequate insurance shall submit to the Authority on quarterly basis insurance
certificates, evidence of paying premium and policy documents.”
However,
the Assistant Director, Corporate Affairs, National Insurance Commission, Mr.
Salami Rasaaq, said that NAICOM did not have any direct business with Arik Air
but with its insurance company.
According
to him, the commission did not delay the insurance of the aircraft because the
request for the Approval in Principle was only submitted to it on Friday
afternoon after the close of work.
“When
you submit a request, there is due process to follow before you give an
approval. A staff member on special risk had to go to the office today
(Tuesday), which is a public holiday, to work on it, and we gave them one-month
approval effective from today (Tuesday) to expire on October 12, by which time
they are expected to do everything possible to get the one-year approval,” he
said.
Rasaaq
explained that the commission had specified a minimum of 10 days to the
expiration of the policy for the request for the AIP.
“Because
they were supposed to have applied 10 days before, which is the minimum to the
expiration of the AIP, but the airline did not comply. But even if they did,
the commissioner has said we will always work on it because of the interest of
the public,” he said.
Aero
and First Nation
The
disruption of Arik’s operations is coming about two weeks after Aero
Contractors Airlines Nigeria’s second largest commercial carrier, and First
Nation Airlines announced the suspension of operations.
In
the case of Aero, the airline had in a statement stated that the suspension was
part of the strategic business realignment to reposition it and return it to
the path of profitability.
It
explained that this business decision, which was as a result of the current
economic situation in the country, had forced some other airlines to suspend
operations or pull out of Nigeria.
For
First Nation, the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Capt.
Muhtar Usman, had explained that the decision was taken in order to ensure that
the airline carried out the required maintenance of its aircraft.
The
NCAA DG had said, “First Nation Airline on its part is in the middle of an
engine replacement programme for one of its aircraft. Another aircraft is due
for mandatory maintenance as allowed by the regulatory authority.
“In
these circumstances, these airlines clearly cannot continue to undertake
schedule operations, hence the inevitable recourse to self-regulatory
suspension.”
Foreign
carriers boycott Nigeria’s fuel
Meanwhile,
the scarcity of aviation fuel occasioned by dollar shortage has made the price
of the Jet-A1 fuel to rise by 81 per cent from ₦220 per litre to ₦400, Reuters has
reported.
This
came barely two months after the price of the commodity, which contributes 30
per cent of airlines’ cost of operations, increased from ₦120 to ₦220 per
litre.
The
latest increase has made foreign airlines flying into Nigeria to start
boycotting the country to refuel, according to Reuters.
It
is the second blow for airlines operating in the nation’s recession-hit economy
in a year. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira peg had made it almost
impossible for them to repatriate profits from ticket sales as it tried to
prevent a currency collapse.
The
crash in the naira since a devaluation in June has led firms who market jet fuel
locally, such as Total, Sahara and ConocoPhillips, to double the price to ₦220
a litre in August, and to as much as ₦400 presently, an airline executive told
Reuters.
A
Deputy Director at the Ministry of Aviation, James Daudu, said Jet-A1 prices
were deregulated, and therefore outside government control, but stated that the
Minister of State for Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, was working with the Ministry
of Petroleum Resources to see if “interventions” in the sector were possible.
“It
would be a whole sphere of intervention, if possible, from the Central Bank of
Nigeria to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources,” he said.
Even
at the higher costs, marketers’ lack of dollars has made fuel scarce. Some
carriers have had aircraft stuck, or were forced to cancel planned journeys,
after frantic last-minute calls from ground staff warned that there was no fuel
available.
“The
economy is crying out for investment, and now it is going to be even harder for
anyone to visit,” an economist with Capital Economics, John Ashbourne, said.
“Who
is going to want to park a billion dollars in a country that you can’t even
easily fly to? It sends the worst possible signal,” he added.
A
spokesman for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation did not answer calls
for comment.
The Central Bank hoped floating the naira would attract dollar inflows, but the
naira has sunk by 50 per cent, forcing oil firms to charge airlines, stuck with
piles of naira, in dollars for jet fuel.
“It’s
an impossible situation. The oil marketers don’t want to sign long-term
agreements anymore so we have to accept whatever prices they demand,” one
airline executive said, adding, “We sell tickets in naira and now they want us
to come with dollars.”
Spain’s
Iberia and United Airlines cancelled their Nigeria services earlier this year,
and two local carriers also halted operations. Other international airlines
responded by boosting ticket prices within Nigeria, charging their
globe-trotting elite as much as $2,000 for an economy class ticket to Europe to
cut losses – more than double the cost of a Lagos ticket bought abroad.
Dubai-based
Emirates has started a detour to Accra, Ghana, to refuel its daily Abuja-bound
flight, a spokesman said. The airline already cut its twice-daily flights to
Lagos and Abuja to just one.
The
move was aided by a substantial drop in Ghana’s jet prices amid tax reform last
month, according to the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors.
Air
France-KLM said it was refuelling abroad in “very exceptional cases” by
juggling suppliers and stomaching extra costs.
Germany’s
Lufthansa is loading more fuel in Frankfurt for its Lagos flight, where the
ground staff doubt their ability to refuel for the final destination of Malabo,
the capital of Equatorial Guinea, an executive said. The airline did not
respond to official requests for comment.
The
scarcity has even pitted airlines against local consumers; a surge in demand
for cooking and heating kerosene during the rainy season, when households
cannot easily burn wood or charcoal, means if the airlines do not pay up,
marketers will sell to locals.
Airlines
met with Transport ministry officials last week in Abuja to press for lower
fuel prices, industry sources said.
Nigeria
used to be one of the most profitable markets for foreign airlines, landing
planes with plenty of first and business class passengers to cater to
executives and officials jetting around under former President Goodluck
Jonathan administration.
British
Airways, a popular choice for well-heeled Nigerians, said it was using smaller
aircraft on its Lagos-London route, as did Air France-KLM.
Turkish
Airlines’ use of smaller planes has added another inconvenience: passengers
complained there is not always space for luggage on the smaller aircraft,
delaying it for days. The airline did not respond to requests for comment.
Ooni’s
botched visit to Sanusi
Members
of the Yoruba community in Kano went back home disappointed on Tuesday after
waiting in vain for the arrival of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at
the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
As
part of activities to herald the monarch into the city of Kano, members of the
Yoruba community, including a dance troupe, besieged the airport early in the
morning to accord him a warm reception but dispersed disappointed after waiting
for several hours.
The
President of the Yoruba community in Kano, Alhaji Abdullatif Faisu, said that
the trip was aborted at the 11th hour due to problems with the Ooni’s chartered
flight.
The
Ooni’s advance party was earlier at the airport awaiting the monarch’s arrival,
but left with the gift that was to be presented to the monarch when it became
apparent that Ogunwusi would no longer make the trip.
Another set of crowd, who had earlier assembled at the emir’s palace, later dispersed when it became evident that the Ooni’s trip had been cancelled.
No comments:
Post a Comment