Yesterday, it was calculated that gross underutilization of commercial aircraft might cost local carriers as much as N4.3 billion year per plane.
One of the reasons local carriers struggle and are constantly in danger of failing is the cautious assessment, which airline operators made at the aviation conference on sunset airports in Lagos.
To maximize the use of aircraft and improve the operators’ prospects of survival, the operators pleaded with the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to keep the majority of the 24 airports open after sunset.
In response, Matthew Pwajok, acting general manager of NAMA, said that while many airports close after dusk, they can easily made available upon request by airlines willing to pay for the additional hours.
George Uriesi, the chief executive officer of Ibom Air, highlighted that the “Nigerian conundrum” stacks the deck against indigenous carriers when discussing the airline’s experience at the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents’ (LAAC) 26th annual conference.
Uriesi pointed out that the Nigerian airline uses the same aircraft as other airlines around the world, but because the owner is from Nigeria, he has to pay higher acquisition costs, insurance premiums that are three times higher than in Europe, North America, and Asia, and weaker naira when paying in dollars, among other things.
Plus, you work in a structurally constrained atmosphere that hinders your ability to be as productive as your peers in Europe, Asia, and North America.
“Let me give you an example of what’s now available in the globe. According to Airbus, each aircraft operates 9.1 to 9.7 block hours per day globally. Others work 12 hours. That translates to nine domestic flights daily in the context of Nigeria. It is between 275 and 292 bloc hours per month and between 3,300 and 3,500 bloc hours per year.
Imagine how much more productive those planes would be than ours in Nigeria, when we average 5.5 to 6.6 block hours each day. That translates to five or six segments each day. That equals 165–198 bloc hours each month. When you purchase a new aircraft, the salesperson will inquire about your usage plans; if you respond with anything less than 250 hours, they will consider you to be insane. What makes you want to purchase a new aircraft?
“If you use what we’re doing on average in this nation, you’ll receive 1980 to 2376 bloc hours annually. What does that mean exactly? The time difference is three bloc hours each plane per day, 90 bloc hours per plane per month, and 1080 bloc hours annually.
It has the effect of considerably reducing the window for aircraft use, which poses a serious threat to the viability of airlines. We often don’t use plus/minus three flights every day as a result of those limiters. That is a daily income opportunity of N12 million, and I’m utilizing a 67-passenger aircraft with a very cheap per-passenger rate compared to other aircraft of N60,000. That translates to N4 million in income per flight, 90 flights per month, and N360 million in lost revenue for a single aircraft. And each aircraft does 1000 flights per year, costing N4.3 billion, the speaker stated.
Considering an airline with five aircraft in its fleet, Uriesi, a former managing director of FAAN, stated that “that is N21.5 billion in a year that the airline could not even pursue.” But consider the impact that would have on a system as a whole, including ground handlers, FAAN, store owners, NCAA, NAMA, and so forth. Even with moderate estimations, that is a big deal since it prevents airlines from freely operating into national airports without setting up the bare minimum to enable them to fly constantly.
The sunset airport phenomena, he continued, is an odd one since it restricts the employment of aircraft. The majority of sunset airports are open for business from 6 or 7 a.m. until 6 or 8 p.m. What is odd about them all, according to the information provided, is that they all have runway illumination, CAT 1 or 2 Instrument Landing Systems (ILSs), and navigational and visual aids.
Why is the airport designated as a 6am or 7am airport if they have all of that? The main factor for this is that most of our airports have a productivity restriction, which means that the airlines can only operate during certain hours when you are making your schedule. You can only function under specific weather circumstances, among other limitations, so you can’t arrange everything perfectly,” he said.
Pwajok, however, clarified that they do not necessarily have planes that operate in direct sunlight, just airports with limited operations.
Our airports are ILS (CAT 2) based and, depending on demand, can run through the night. Aside from Jalingo, none of the other airports—CAT 2 in Sokoto, Bauchi, Dutse, Ilorin, Akure, and Benin—are sunset airports because we are also upgrading from CAT 2. Our operations have constantly been expanded in response to everyday requests. We ask the airline for N50,000 in exchange for a one-hour extension.
There are ten airports with sporadic flights. They operate for 12 hours every day, but only have three or five flights every week. It makes no sense to keep operating them into the night because it is a very expensive expenditure. They are available upon request because we need to be extremely realistic, Pwajok remarked.
