By Frank Meke
It’s no longer news that foreign airlines operating out of Nigeria are now Kings unto themselves. They set the rules, circumvent all known engagement regimes, block inventories to travel agents, determine payment domain, fix fares against known fare parameters, and determine frequencies to enter and exit Nigeria.
About the third quarter of last year, these airlines alleged stringent protocols to the repatriation of their funds, warning that they will no longer to listen to calls for patience and endurance, and reported Nigeria to global aviation circles, even though same pains were experienced by them elsewhere in Africa and the world at large.
After much foot dragging, Nigeria through the Central Bank of Nigeria, responded, listing names of foreign airlines and the forex allocations to each of them, and even with the House of Representatives, organising a peaceful resolution inquest into what had became an apparent forex pandemic.
National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, was at that meeting and pleaded for serious intervention to resolve this logjam, and like seers, seeing through the crystal ball that a day of Armageddon beckons in which these airlines, will become a law unto themselves.
As predicted by NANTA but ignored by Nigeria Aviation regulatory agencies, these airlines struck, first by informing their trade partners ( travel agents) through unofficial channels, that it is not going to be business as usual.
Pronto, fares at all levels were unilaterally jacked up, with economy tickets, selling for about three million naira and business class for five million naira. To change a travel date or adopt a convenient travel plan, attracts between 1: 5 million naira to 1: 8milliom naira, added to other obnoxious trade rules.
Several failed attempts to make these new colonial merchants see reason, by Nanta met brick walls, and to get official response from the federal government through its relevant agencies, was like worshipping in the synagogue of Satan.
Excuses were carefully generated and deployed by the new pharaohs to justify their unwholesome practices and strangulation of the Nigerian vibrant travel economy, adjudged as the biggest in Africa and with the best rebound record lifeline after covid pandemic in the entire Africa continent travel space.
And with both segments of Nigeria travelling publics, groaning at the merciless merchandising mechanics adopted by these airlines, perfectly and unabashedly daring government to stop their full reign on fare regimes, the Nigerian organised private sector travel professionals, felt time has come to deflate the humongous fare profiteering by the foreign invaders of Nigeria highly unregulated travel ecosystem.
On Friday in lagos, Nanta President, Mrs Susan Akporiaye, spoke to the travel media and berated government for not being ” government ” over the ongoing repressive profiteering by foreign carriers.
Mrs Akporiaye, wept, concerned that Nigerian travel trade professionals have been shortchanged, undermined, with many closing shops and their clients, on desperate cross border runs, seeking to purchase cheaper tickets, with Nigerian gains tailing the hypertensive fare induced migration.
The shock revelations by Nanta leadership, with their veterans lending support, suddenly galvanised into a lamentation party as each travel trade professional in attendance, gave different pictures of the the airlines impudence and outright disregard to how their fund repatriation pound of flesh response affected their survival and livelihood.
Apart from jobs lost and threat to the safety of oppressed Nigerian travelling public, nanta wondered at government foot dragging at approving interested Nigerian airline operators to harvest BASA agreements with countries where these foreign carriers operate into Nigeria, noting such strategic response, will drive healthy competitions and offer the Nigerian travelling public more cheaper options.
Though, few foreign airlines , signed off from this gang up against Nigerians and Nigeria, and remained faithful to Nigerian trade partners.
Qatar Airways and Air Morocco, are said to play to the rules, and in fact, without their open support to nanta members and Nigeria travelling public, the Nigerian travel economy, would have totally collapsed and scavenged bone and flesh by other conniving foreign carriers.
Yinka Folami, Vice President, nanta lagos zone, has lost pound of flesh over the highly abnormal scenario, which has made his members very restive. He wished it was a sports boxing game and to which the six footer would have gained a technical knock out victory over the uncaring crowd of business partners.
Who bails the diabetic travel trade economy out of hands of these insensitive foreign trade Lords? Where is International Air Transport Association in all these? Do we still have government officials in charge of the aviation industry? What step will nanta take? These and many more questions, will need answers before, Nigerians are pushed to chasing these travel economy colonialists out of Nigeria.. The count down has began!!
