By Ayomide Otitoju
Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema has warned that Nigeria’s aviation industry is facing an existential crisis, saying several domestic airlines could collapse within the next 30 days unless urgent measures are taken.
Onyema spoke on the sidelines of the launch of Pathways, Pilgrimage and Destiny, the biography of Med-View Airline Chairman Muneer Bankole.
He said the controversy over the remittance of the five per cent Ticket and Cargo Sales Charge (TSC) was not about airlines refusing to pay statutory charges but about the burden created by the existing collection system.
The Air Peace chairman called for constructive engagement between the Federal Government and airline operators to develop a more practical revenue collection model.
He proposed a fixed unit charge as an alternative, saying it could reduce disputes over the components of airfares subject to the levy.
Onyema described aviation as a capital-intensive industry operating under difficult conditions and warned that urgent intervention was needed to prevent further airline failures.
“Except something drastic is done very quickly within the next 30 days, a lot of airlines might go extinct,” he said.
He also criticised threats by labour unions to picket airlines over the TSC dispute, describing the proposed action as unprecedented and an attempt to intimidate operators.
Onyema said airlines had consistently engaged with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Ministry of Aviation, stressing that the industry had no dispute with labour unions.
He said Nigerian airlines were facing high borrowing costs, inadequate infrastructure, bird strikes and multiple operating charges, all of which were putting additional pressure on operators.
“If they picket any airline, others will go because there’s no need for that,” he said, arguing that government agencies should not rely on unions to address alleged debts.
Onyema urged the Federal Government to intervene urgently, noting that more than 50 Nigerian airlines had collapsed over the years despite their owners achieving success in other sectors.
He expressed confidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remained supportive of indigenous airlines and would not allow the sector to collapse.
The Air Peace chairman called for policies that would strengthen domestic carriers, improve their operating environment and promote the long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s aviation industry.
