Aircraft Depletion Imminent as Airlines Suspend Aircraft Maintenance Abroad over Forex Scarcity

Chinedu Eze

Domestic carriers may suffer forced depletion of aircraft, following the suspension of all aircraft checks abroad due to lack of foreign exchange.

With the latest development, all the aircraft ferried overseas would remain in various aircraft maintenance facilities until the airlines are able to source for funds to pay for their repairs and subsequent return to service in Nigeria.

THISDAY learnt that the consequence is that any aircraft that is due for major check like C-check, which is carried out overseas, would be parked and any aircraft that develops fault beyond A and B checks, which can only be done in Nigeria, will also be parked, and this will lead to forced depletion of operating aircraft, unless more aircraft are brought into the country.

So airlines are losing seats and this has given rise to high demand, high airfares, flight delays and cancellations, as few aircraft are made to operate many schedules in a day.

The situation is exacerbated by high aviation fuel, which has risen to N903 per litre, as industry observers said it could hit N1000 per litre any moment unless there is urgent intervention.

Former CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, told THISDAY on Wednesday that the aviation industry is in dire situation and in need of urgent action to arrest the situation before things could get worse.

He listed the solution to the challenges to include making foreign exchange available to airlines and urgent intervention in the rise of price of aviation fuel to arrest the high cost of airfares.

“Depletion in aircraft fleet will lead to shortage of seats, which means that high demand will drive up the fares. Currently dollar is scarce so airlines will not access Forex to pay for the maintenance of their aircraft taken overseas. This has given rise to reduction in capacity, so something must be done to stop the slide,” he said.

The reality that aircraft on major maintenance could be grounded as long as possible has stirred fears that without the return of aircraft previously flown overseas for maintenance the ones currently operating could all be grounded when their check time are due or if they develop fault so there would not be fleet to fall back on.

THISDAY investigation revealed that Arik Air, Ibom Air, Air Peace are expecting some of their aircraft ferried overseas for maintenance to return. Some of them are due to return if the airlines make the needed payments, but with the scarcity of Forex, the airlines are handicapped.

The President/CEO of Topbrass Aviation Limited and former Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Captain Roland Iyayi, told THISDAY that airlines could conduct A and B checks in Nigeria but would have to ferry their aircraft overseas for major checks, but warned that if the current Forex scarcity continues it would even be difficult to source for spares to conduct minor checks in Nigeria.

He also acknowledged that many of the airlines have depleted fleet already so there is need to bring in more aircraft into the country to stem the decrease in the number of aircraft seats.

“Not all checks require you to fly the aircraft overseas. There are some checks that can be done here in Nigeria. It is when major checks are involved that you will talk about flying the aircraft overseas or grounding them if you cannot take them out. But so far things are still okay but if the forex scarcity persists, it will be difficult for airlines to source spares to maintain their aircraft even in Nigeria and this will ultimately lead to the grounding of their aircraft,” Iyayi said.

THISDAY investigation also revealed that passengers are finding it very difficult coping with airlines flight delays and cancellation, which are not only caused by fuel scarcity or high price of the product, but also technical issues.

A passenger told THISDAY how his flight was cancelled after several hours of waiting and also some airlines drop passengers luggage on some fights in order to carry more fuel, especially when flying to the airports they are not sure they would get Jet A1.

Former Managing Director of NAMA, Nnamdi Udo, told THISDAY that the ripple effect of high airfares, flight cancellation and delays, would amount to inconveniencing of passengers, loss of revenue by aviation agencies in form of charges, taxes and other offering and also the overall negative impact on the industry.

While travellers lament the high cost of airfares, airlines complain of low passenger traffic, insisting that the only way they can survive is to pass the high cost of aviation fuel to their fares, which is also keeping many potential travellers away from the airports.

The Group Managing Director, Finchglow Holdings, Mr. Bankole Bernard, has warned that airfares might continue to rise as long as the naira continues to depreciate and there is Forex scarcity.

Bankole who spoke to aviation correspondents said: “The fact is that the cost of tickets would still soar higher than what we are experiencing at the moment because several things act as determining factors.  Everything that has to do with air transport is dollar denominated. So, if it is dollar denominated, how can we ensure business success for our people? That is what we should be thinking about. Someone told me recently that a flight to Maiduguri is now about N400, 000 and I said that makes a lot of sense. It is either you want to fly or you go by road where you may be kidnapped. It is not the airlines’ fault that they are charging that amount of money, but it is the reality on ground.”