Calls for New National Airline Grow Amid Concerns Over Foreign Dominance
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Aviation professionals have renewed calls for the Federal Government to establish a national airline, warning that foreign carriers continue to dominate Nigeria’s aviation sector at the country’s expense.
Speaking at the fourth Air Transport Quarterly Magazine annual awards in Lagos, the General Secretary of the Nigerian Aviation Professionals, Abdulrazak Saidu, urged the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to prioritise the creation of a viable national carrier.
Saidu lamented that nearly two decades after the collapse of Nigeria Airways, the country remains without a flag carrier, while international airlines profit from Nigerian routes without competition from a homegrown alternative.
“Sir, we want to make a request through you (Najomo) to the minister as a regulator. We cannot allow foreign airlines to cart away all our money,” he said.
“Whatever mistakes were made by Senator Hadi Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation, Keyamo as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, we have told him he has a right to correct and make us have our own national carrier.”
In response, the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo, stated that the issue of a national airline rests with President Bola Tinubu.
“The issue of a national carrier has always come up, and as my minister has always said, that is the prerogative of Mr President. Once Mr President gives the go-ahead, we will do the needful,” Najomo said.
The demand for a national carrier comes in the wake of a failed attempt under the previous administration. In a controversial move, former aviation minister Hadi Sirika launched Nigeria Air in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, unveiling an 11-year-old Boeing 737-800 painted in Nigerian colours. The effort was widely criticised as a political stunt, sparking outrage among industry stakeholders who suspected foul play.
With pressure mounting on the government to act, aviation experts argue that a well-structured national airline could boost the economy, create jobs, and provide a competitive alternative to foreign carriers. The decision now lies with President Tinubu’s administration.
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