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Multiple taxation: Nigeria’s Airlines call on FG to intervene in aviation sector

Professor Obiora Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) and Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, has urged the federal government to intervene in the aviation sector to make air travel more affordable for Nigerians.

Okonkwo stated that the over 20 taxes imposed on each air ticket, combined with the high foreign exchange rate (N1,605 to $1), are burdening airlines and driving up ticket prices.

He noted that airlines are forced to purchase spare parts and maintenance services in dollars, even when prices haven’t increased abroad.

His words: “As long as the government does not understand the importance of aviation and make the appropriate investments in the sector, investments like creating the enabling environment for the aviation sector to survive, which means access to single digit capital, reduction in all the charges and taxes that impact negatively on air travel business, we will still see increases in ticket prices.

“We just came back from South Africa on an IATA (International Air Travel Association) conference and it is on record that Nigeria still has the highest cost of aviation services. Every airline here pays higher than what is even paid by their peers in the western world, and we the local operators are victims of these,” he said.

Lamenting the multiple taxes, the United Nigeria Airline boss said: “for every ticket that we sell, we have about 20 to 22 deductions. Some are even repetitions. We have been crying out and no one is even asking to know what the issues are and how to resolve them. We are worried about it and if nothing is done, and quickly too, the factors militating against the sector are not turning out right for the country.”

He raised concern about how the federal government is generating a lot of revenue from the aviation sector without caring to provide the necessary facilities and support to boost the sector saying: “these taxes, fortunately, form part of the revenue for government.

“It is on record today that Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which is an agency under the aviation ministry, is the fourth largest contributor of revenue to government. The question is where is that money coming from? It is coming from profit that operators would have retained and reinvested in growing their businesses. So, they are sucking us dry. It is not healthy for the industry and not healthy for our services. Still, the government is not investing adequately in the sector because any investment in the aviation sector is an investment in the future and progress of a country, given the importance of this sector.”


The carefree attitude of the. Government he said, contradicted the position of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regulation that requires that money made by an aviation agency should be reinvested in the sector, hence, he added that with ICAO rules, regulators and agencies only have to charge enough to cover their expenditure and not to make huge profits.

While urging the government to show more interest in supporting the growth of the aviation sector, Okonkwo said the government was in a position to recoup its investment in the sector.

“Aviation is a very critical sector. Investment here is a win-win for government. It is one sector that guarantees government an income from every ticket sold. If government invests in the sector, it will get the money back and one way or the other, government would be facilitating other businesses across the ecosystem of the economy.

”The United Nigeria Airlines chairman also lauded airline operators in Nigeria for their resilience in the face of multiple challenges saying that the operators are patriotically primed to weather the storm and help propel Nigeria’s economic development.

“We have been weathering the storm,” he said, adding that “we have been resilient. If we do not have the ability and the resilience, we would have been grounded. There have been enough shocks in the industry for us to have collapsed, but we have remained resilient because of our patriotism and our resolve to push forward with the development of our country. For us, it is for patriotism”, he added.

He however, commended the leadership of the NCAA for ensuring high safety standards in the industry even as he described Nigeria as one of the countries with the strongest aviation regulatory agencies and best safety records in the world.

“We have one of the strongest regulatory agencies in the world, that is, NCAA under the leadership of Capt. Chris Najomo. We are more regulated than most countries in the western world. Regulation is about safety and for instance, in Africa as a whole, you have 31 IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registered airlines. Six of those are in Nigeria including United Nigeria Airlines. IOSA certification is about your safety quality. NCAA will not compromise on safety.”








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