Some international airlines, which hitherto had their operational bases in Nigeria, have started relocating their offices to Accra, Ghana from where they come to pick passengers in Nigeria.
The airlines, THISDAY gathered, cited the poor value of the naira, high cost and paucity of aviation fuel as some of the reasons for their relocation.

Already, one of the major international operators in Nigeria, Emirates started last Sunday to pick up Nigerian passengers and take them to Accra, where it refuels and before heading back to Dubai, its operational hub.



THISDAY also gathered that some other airlines are already opening their Accra offices, while some have started both Accra and Lagos flights.

The Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Capt Nogie Meggison, who confirmed Emirates latest decision said other foreign airlines may follow suit because of the high cost of aviation fuel, which is hurting air transport business in Nigeria. He noted that some of the airlines may even begin to attract Nigerian passengers to travel to Ghana to board international flights.

While aviation fuel is sold at N200 to N250 per litre in Nigeria, the product is sold at N110 per litre in Accra as the West African neighbouring country reduced the price of the product by 20percent about two weeks ago.

Meggison said that Ghana may also use the price of aviation fuel, known as Jet A1 to attract more foreign airlines operating into Nigeria to move to Accra, a development, which he said will hurt hotel and logistics supply businesses in Nigeria.
He also noted that domestic airlines would also lose connecting passengers from other destinations to Lagos and Abuja where they board international flights.

“AON condemns this new move because it will affect Nigeria adversely because when this is done Nigerian airlines operations will be curbed and it will end up shutting our economy. With Emirates move to Ghana Transcorp has lost 18 crew, engineers and logistics service providers,” he said.

Meggison also frowned on what some industry observers described as the cartel of oil marketers that arbitrarily fix price of aviation fuel to boost their profits. He noted that as they make profits from the aviation fuel they are stifling Nigeria’s economy because they drive away foreign airlines out of the country, adding that the international carriers are learning to wait at Nigeria’s neighbouring countries for Nigerian passengers because of the harsh operational environment due to government’s inimical policies and seeming insensitivity to the fact that Nigeria’s economy is suffering.

The AON Chief said Mobile and Total are making excess profits from their downstream operations because of the run-away revenues they generate from the sale of aviation fuel.

Meggison said AON should be given allocation to start importing Jet A1, noting that domestic carriers need about 1.2 million litres of fuel a day.

The secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART) and former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd) said that oil marketers have priced aviation fuel out of reality, pointing out that by selling the product from N200 per litre it is no more in consonance with the exchange rate.

“When dollar was sold for N165 the price of aviation fuel was about N80.00 per litre. Now the price of dollar has doubled, so ideally the price of aviation fuel should be about N160.00. By selling the product for N200 and above, the marketers are trying to kill the air transport industry, which is a catalyst to every nation’s economy.”

When contacted however, the PR agency, JSP that handles Emirates media service said it was unaware that Emirates had moved to Ghana and expressed doubt that the airline could be operating from Accra to pick passengers in Lagos.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/19/foreign-airlines-servicing-nigeria-now-operate-from-ghana/

Enough of wailings, please..

Let's offer solutions.

Jonathan left more than 20 companies behind before May 29,2015. Buhari has sent them away through his harsh economic policies.

A combination of useless value of Naira, high cost of aviation fuel and scarcity of aviation fuel. Nonsense policies

See Ghana has taken advantage.

Buhari's administration lack of fiscal policy and CBN's skewed monetary policies are not favourable to investors and business communities.

Nigeria is the only country where the citizens have been indoctrinated to see waivers as corruption and today we all are suffering the hardships occasioned by the removal of these economic stop-gaps.

When quacks instead of experts are chosen to head and be part of Economic Team where practical experience, track records and technical-know-how at national and international are the lest qualifications especially in this time of recession.

At a time like this, I wouldn't discourage the employment of the services of trusted foreign experts as secret Presidential advisers on economic recession.

I believe there is hope in Nigeria but not with the set of leaders we already have in the helm of affairs!!

Another breakthrough for General Cassandra

Na wa o!
This government sef! 2019, abeg come fast before Nigeria is doomed!!

See what buhari have done to Nigeria

Beremx:
Na wa o!

This government sef! 2019, abeg come fast before Nigeria is doomed!!

Even female zombies are complaining

Opportunity for local airlines to airlift passengers to Ghana for the foreign airlines buh they won't think that way.

dunkem21:
Enough of wailings, please..

Let's offer solutions.

Guy park well

Leave matter for Matthias

Tell Buhari ur president to offer solutions, things are getting worse in Nigeria, boys are not smiling again.


Who will offer the solution is it me or the Government?


No let me call u Zombie

MadamExcellency:
Buhari's administration lack of fiscal policy and CBN's skewed monetary policies are not favourable to investors and business communities.

Nigeria is the only country where the citizens have been indoctrinated to see waivers as corruption and today we all are suffering the hardships occasioned by the removal of these economic stop-gaps.

When quacks instead of experts are chosen to head and be part of Economic Team where practical experience, track records and technical-know-how at national and international are the lest qualifications especially in this time of recession.

At a time like this, I wouldn't discourage the employment of the services of trusted foreign experts as secret Presidential advisers on economic recession.

Excellent. Am wowed by the last paragraph..

Redenomination should also be considered by these experts.

Chai.

dunkem21:


Excellent. Am wowed by the last paragraph..

Redenomination should also be considered by these experts.

Chai.

Redenomination is not done when your currency is under severe attack. It is like negotiating a cease-fire from position of weakness.

It is time the government spends as tomorrow will never come.

The PDP bigwigs and compatriots who used the three months window after Jonathan lost to Buhari to change their liquid cash to Dollar, Yaun, Euro, Pounds and physical gold for fear of what Buhari did in 1983/84 (changing Naira colours) are just not investing anymore because of either unfavorable policies or for fear of EFCC attacks until Buhari is gone in 2019.

If this government fails, we all suffer it directly or indirectly hence I call for extraordinary intervention and may be unusual even if it's unpopular at the moment, just to get the Economy back on track, create employment and restores investors confidence.

Crime rate is at all time high in the cities and suburban neighborhoods.

MadamExcellency:


Redenomination is not done when your currency is under severe attack. It is like negotiating a cease-fire from position of weakness.

It is time the government spends as tomorrow will never come.

The PDP bigwigs and compatriots who used the three months window after Jonathan lost to Buhari to change their liquid cash to Dollar, Yaun, Euro, Pounds and physical gold for fear of what Buhari did in 1983/84 (changing Naira colours) are just not investing anymore because of either unfavorable policies or for fear of EFCC attacks until Buhari is gone in 2019.

If this government fails, we all suffer it directly or indirectly hence I call for extraordinary intervention and may be unusual even if it's unpopular at the moment, just to get the Economy back on track, create employment and restores investors confidence.

Crime rate is at all time high in the cities and suburban neighborhoods.

Thank you. I thought of redenomination because of the small units rounded up to the nearest whole number in our commodities. For example, Shoprite deceive people by pegging their prices @ N496. 99 whereas you end up paying N500 chopping our naira off.

You're right that people hoard their hard currencies and refuse to invest because of govt nosing into their accounts through EFCC. After Fayose's incident, the remaining people pulled their funds away from banks out of fear thereby suffocating investments.

Again, your last paragraph is on point; I would've showed you a picture of a woman caught in the market today whose racket is to exchange a gallon of water with groundnut oil.

As we talk, we have been notified that the price of bread will go up by 20% on Monday while we queue to have the last bite @ old price.

I pray recharge cards doesn't follow

"Ghana must grow" - thats Buhari's new mantra with the disastrous economic mismanagement he's engineered to Ghana's advantage.

@Post

This is just terrible. I think its time to consider leaving Nigeria before things get worse. PMB really needs to do something to create a favorable environment for both local and foreign investors because at the rate we are going, Nigeria may end up worse than Zimbabwe by the end of 2017.

omg

omg

omfg

This is a classic case of "from frying pan to fire". Can someone on here tell the Buhari`s plan here?? cos i cant see shit...