Nigeria: Despite Recession, Airlines Sold N330 Billion Tickets in 2016
Despite the
economic downturn, which has eroded the purchasing power of Nigerians,
air travel still recorded ticket sales of N330,548,324,796.84 from
January to October 2016, a little less than N385,909,897,028. 80 sold
between January to December in 2015.
It is however
projected that the total number of ticket sales last year would surpass
that of the previous year due to the high December season not yet
reflected in the data provided by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
(NCAA).
Also, between January and September 2016, airlines airlifted 11,344, 936 passengers.
This is slightly lower than the passenger movement in 2015, which stood at 11,402,899 during the period.
However, passenger
movement figures in 2015 and 2016 were lower than the pre-recession era
when total inbound and outbound passenger movements rose to 15 million
in 2014.
The 2014 figure was
attributed to flourishing economy growth after the rebasing of the
economy, which made the country an attractive investment destination.
Addressing newsmen
in Lagos yesterday, the Director-General of NCAA, Captain Muhtar Usman
explained that in 2015, domestic airlines airlifted 8,130,568 passengers
with 202,352 flights during the period, while foreign airlift stood at
3,272,331 with 31,493 flights. The total number of flights for that year
was put at 233,845.
In 2016, domestic
airlines airlifted 8,090,816 passengers with 130,745 flights, while the
number of passengers on international air travel was put at 3,272,331
with 33,099 flights. The total number of flights was put at 163,844, a
significant drop from 2015 arising from fewer local flights in 2016.
Usman said between
2014 and 2015, Nigeria recorded zero accidents and there was no major
incident, with 2016 identified as the best year in the area of safety
records.
The
Director-General identified the challenges faced by airlines last year,
which might still prevail in the larger part of this year, as the
contraction in the economy, paucity of foreign exchange, the inability
of foreign airlines to repatriate funds, and the scarcity of aviation
fuel.
He said NCAA
recorded major milestones during the period, including the audit carried
out by the US Transport Security Administration (TSA), the election of
Usman as the chairman of the Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety
Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO), and the appointment of four Nigerians
as International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) certified security
auditors.
Usman said NCAA has
commenced the aerodrome certification of the Lagos and Abuja airports,
the completion of phase three of the aerodrome certification programme,
certification of air navigation service providers (the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency, NAMA), and the audit of aerodromes and heliports in
the country.
He also disclosed
that the regulatory authority has automated its personnel licences and
was successful in the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme
(USOAP), adding that in the area of consumer protection, NCAA received
7,281 complaints from passengers on foreign airlines in 2015 and of
these, 4,343 were processed and resolved.
"In 2016, 2,236 complaints were received and 1,792 were resolved," Usman said.
The
Director-General also noted that the non-availability of aviation fuel
continues to linger, "there are also weather related operational
hiccups, increase in delays and cancellations, and increase in
complaints from domestic passengers".
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