Over 100 airlines died in 40 years – Minister

Minister for Aviation, Festus Keyamo

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said the aviation industry has a high mortality rate, which caused the demise of over 100 airlines in the last 40 years.

Keyamo disclosed this during the 10th anniversary of West Africa’s largest airline and Nigerian flag carrier, Air Peace in Lagos on Saturday.

The minister, however, promised that the current administration would end the incessant death of airlines.

He said, “I am excited to be here today for two reasons. First is that Air Peace has survived for 10 years and keeps thriving. If you look at the history of airlines in Nigeria, you will discover that it is difficult for them to survive 10 years and still look healthy. We have a history of great mortality of airlines.

“More than a hundred airlines have gone in the last 40 years and I know you all remember. From Concord to Zenith to Bellview, among others. You will then ask yourself why they die off, I can keep mentioning them because I have their list with me.

“So when we came to office we said there must be something responsible for this high mortality rate and now we have Air Peace looking strong and has continued to be on the rise and not on the decline.”

Keyamo noted that the “situation is worrisome. Let me tell you why it is a thing of worry. A recent study by Boeing says that Nigeria accounts for 80 per cent of domestic travel in the whole of Africa. Not West Africa, not Central Africa, but the whole of Africa.

“The busiest route in the whole of Africa is the Lagos-Abuja route; that is, in the entire Africa. I think it is followed by Johannesburg-Cape Town. But Nigeria is number one in terms of domestic travel.

“We have the population, we have the traffic, we have the people. So it is surprising that if we have this traffic, why are the airlines not surviving? Ask yourself. Why are they not surviving? And together, since we assumed office I have sat down with operators to solve this problem and I listen to them.”

Keyamo said it has become reassuring that the 10-year-old Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, has defied the high mortality phenomenon, which happens to airlines with their first five to 10 years of operation, “indicating that it will be a great carrier of the future.”

The Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said the airline is a product of deep thinking and the desire to positively impact the country by creating jobs for the teaming Nigerian youths and not primarily to make profits.

“Air Peace is a product of deep thinking and a desire to make a far-reaching impact in a country I love deeply. Like most businesses, profit is an important motive; however, with Air Peace, profit was not the primary driving force behind its establishment,” he stated.