Aircraft owners seek cheaper funding options to keep domestic operators competitive

Alex Nwuba, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria (AOPAN), has called for cheaper funding options in the aviation industry to help local operators remain globally competitive.

Nwuba spoke on Wednesday at the maiden transport summit organised by JustAlive Communications Limited in Lagos.

He said access to affordable funding could only come through government support, calling for the elimination of cost structures that hinder growth.

The president said aviation is highly profitable, “but we must remove the cost structures that are inherent”.

“I have always proposed the concept of a national leasing company, we need cheap airplanes,” Nwuba said.

He said the government could acquire about 500 airplanes and make them available to local  airlines at 4 percent interest rate.

The association’s president lamented that Nigerian airlines currently borrow at interest rates between 28 and 34 percent, which erodes profits.

Nwuba added that about 47 percent of airlines’ expenditure goes into fuel, further increasing operating costs.

Also speaking, Addo Sanusi, chief executive officer of Aero Contractors, attributed rising airfares to policy inconsistencies.

Represented by Femi Oluwafemi, head of sales at Aero Contractors, Sanusi said many airlines in Nigeria need cash inflows to expand operations and improve service quality.

On airport conditions, he said there is an urgent need for infrastructure upgrades.

“We have talked about improvement at the international airports, but for the local airports, we can do a lot better in a lot of ways,” he said.

“We have a lot of gaps that, as a country, we need to block and we must do that together.”

In his remarks, Remi Jibodu, chief operating officer of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport terminal two (MMA2), said the terminal has been futuristic with its infrastructure.

Jibodu highlighted the terminal’s innovations in security infrastructure, adding that airports must have strong security frameworks.