…Hails Fidelity Bank, AFG Deal
The Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Chris Najomo has said that Nigerian airlines now have the capacity to operates routes now compared to before as they now have many and modern aircraft in their fleet.
This is just as he also said that NCAA has made it easier for intending airline operators to secure Airline Operators Certificate (AOC) by reducing the period to between seven and eight months as against two to three years in the past.
He said these while speaking at the just concluded two -day Nigeria Aircraft Acquisition Investment Submit (NAAIS) in Lagos.
“I can tell you that between seven and eight AOCs have been issued. AOC usually takes, in the past, two years, three years. But since I came, it now take within six to nine nine months, maximum and with the the Ease of Doing Business without compromising safety because you must follow the safety regulations.”
Speaking on whether there’s an increase in the number aircraft fleet in Nigeria, Najomo said the fleet sizes of airlines have increased as many airplanes are beginning to come in .
On data to back his claim, Najomo said, ” Look, we have data. I have to go back to my books. But I can tell you, four years back, the kind of aircraft that have come into this country are quite different. There’s fleet acquisition, newer fleets. We have Embraer. We have Boeing. We have Bombardier. We have all sorts. It’s not only the airline, even the private jet sectors, too.”
“A lot is happening, and more will come. I predict that in the next six months, in fact, as I’m sitting here, another person has said they want to start the AOC. Six months from now, you will see an influx of aeroplanes. Initially, before, we did not have the capacity. Now, we are having the capacity.
“We are going to explore the routes that have not been explored. Nigerian airlines are now going to go to the West Coast. A lot is happening,” Najomo said.
Speaking on insurance, the NCAA boss said, “The aircraft insurance will definitely come down. Insurance companies are all here and they have met. They are getting stronger. In as much as we have foreign insurance, we also have the Nigerian insurance to back it up. I can tell you one ultimate thing we are going to see at the end of the day is that prices of tickets will come down. You can see they are coming down because we are beginning to have capacity.
“We had no capacity before. So where we have airlines who are having two, three aircraft, now, we are having airlines having six, seven, eight. Ultimately, Air Peace is the biggest airliner here, with over 20, 25 aircraft.’
He commended the deal between Fidelity Bank and Aircraft Finance Germany (AFG), describing it as a major breakthrough for the sector.
He said that the essence is to formalised a Strategic Partnership Framework Agreement to unlock capital for airlines for aircraft acquisition.
“It is a major thing that has just happened between Fidelity Bank and AFG . Of course, I give it to Fidelity Bank because Fidelity Bank has been there. You all know that it has played a big role in the biggest airline, Air Peace.
“Fidelity Bank has backed up Air Peace. So, other airlines have joined. I have even been told Zenith and all the other banks have also joined . You can see that this is is the way forward.
He commented the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo for putting a lot of things for this to happen and the industry is happy for it and that the sector is taking shape
“In the next five, six months, you will see. You will see that more aircraft will come in. Better aircraft, modern aircraft will come in. They are coming in already. We expect that more operators will leverage on his.” he said.
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