Nigerian airline operators have expressed concern about losing N150 billion in just two months, while ground handling companies have threatened to take additional action over unpaid bills of approximately N9 billion.
Roland Iyayi, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, stated that airlines had lost more than N150 billion in just two months, emphasising that operators were on the verge of collapse.
He said, “Airlines have bled over N150bn in two months. Where is the money going to come from?. It’s gotten to a point where nobody can threaten anybody any longer.”
Iyayi further cautioned that the current dispute could have disastrous repercussions and that the viability of ground handling companies depended heavily on the presence of airlines.
He said, “If airlines don’t exist, they don’t have a business. Nobody cares about the airlines; everybody wants to collect money.
“We’ve made up our minds now that whatever anybody wants to do, they can continue, but I can guarantee you that at the end of the day, everybody will come to their knees. You can’t force anybody to come up with what they don’t have.”
He also warned that any interference with airline operations will eventually harm all parties involved in the industry. “They threaten in the same way that some marketers say cash and carry,” he continued. So let’s see if airlines have any business by the time they cease operations.
Ground Handling Association of Nigeria Reacts
Additionally, Olaniyi Adigun, the chairman of the Aviation Ground Handling Association of Nigeria, stated that the organization was thinking about its next course of action in accordance with labour regulations.
Under the auspices of the Aviation Ground Handlers Association of Nigeria, the ground handlers had given airline operators a seven-day ultimatum, threatening to withhold vital services necessary for aircraft operations if the outstanding bills were not paid.
The group stated that its members’ operational capabilities had been negatively impacted by the persistent debt. Adding that repeated attempts to recoup the money had not produced much success, with airlines’ payment obligations being mostly unfulfilled.
BACKSTORY…
Recall that the minister of aviation previously stated that President Bola Tinubu has approved a 30 percent discount on debts owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies.
The decision, approved by President Tinubu came following Airlines warning to shutdown due to surging cost of Jet A1 fuel.
AON earlier warned that airlines across the nation may suspend operations from April 20, 2026, due what it describes as an “astronomical and unsustainable” rise in the price of JetA1 fuel.
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