TheCable

George Uriesi, chief operating officer (COO), Ibom Air, says domestic airlines lose at least N4.3 billion annually due to their inability to operate 24 hours flights daily to the airports of their choice.

Uriesi made this known while speaking at the 26th annual League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) conference on Thursday in Lagos.

He said such restrictions had led to underutilisation of fleets by airlines.

In his presentation, ‘Maximising runway utilisation: A Nigerian airline perspective,’ Uriesi said the country’s carriers were losing an average of N4 million per flight, N360 million in 90 flights, and about N4.3 billion annually to sunset airport operations.

According to him, this was partly because too many impediments were present in the operating environment.

“These include limited runway availability across the domestic network, multiple operational infrastructure deficiencies, poor organisation, and many others.”

The Ibom Air boss, therefore, appealed to the government to prioritise airfield infrastructure and provide the necessary instrument landing system (ILS).

He further called for accompanying accessories for every airport and keeping the aerodromes open to meet the needs of airlines and other users.

Uriesi added that the government should make currently approved master plans a regulatory requirement for every airport and illegalise non-adherence to the master plans by any organisation.

“Establishing a local aircraft lessor/financing vehicle that would allow for the domiciling of aircraft payments in local currency would make a huge difference to the air transport sector in Nigeria,” he added.

Olusegun Koiki, chairman of the league, urged the federal government to urgently come up with financial support for the ailing domestic operators in the country.