Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah
The diplomatic row that broke out between United Kingdom and Nigeria on Tuesday has forced the Federal Government to consider the review of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement it entered into with London and over 60 other countries, investigation by our correspondent has revealed.
Top government sources disclosed that the decision was reached at a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday between the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, and senior officials of the ministry and aviation parastatals.
The Federal Government had on Tuesday slashed British Airways’ weekly flight frequencies between Nigeria and the UK from 14 to 10.
Specifically, the government asked BA to reduce its flights from seven per week to three on the Lagos-London route from November 8. However, the BA Abuja-London route’s seven weekly frequencies remain intact.
The decision, it was learnt, was in retaliation for the alleged refusal by the British authorities to grant adequate landing slots to Nigeria’s Arik Air at the London Heathrow Airport.
Arik, which stopped its Abuja-London flights recently, cited slots issues as the reason for the suspension of service on the lucrative route.
The airline subsequently petitioned the Ministry of Aviation and the National Assembly to intervene in the matter.
It was learnt that government’s decision to slash BA’s frequencies to Lagos was in response to the petition.
The Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Joseph Obi, confirmed that the government had concluded plans to review all existing BASA agreements with other countries in Nigeria’s interest.
“The review should not be seen as a negative thing. It is to better Nigeria’s interest. And it is not for one country only. It is for all countries,” he said.
BA said on Thursday that the UK authorities had commenced discussions with the Federal Government following the reduction of its light frequencies to Lagos.
A statement by the Country Manager, Nigeria, BA, Mr. Kola Olayinka, said, “A new winter schedule released by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, which slashed BA’s frequencies, however, cited operational reasons as the reason for the action.
“The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has restricted British Airways flights to Lagos from next week. They have cited operational reasons for this imposition. It appears that British Airways is the only airline to be singled out by these restrictions.”
He added, “We are doing all we can to resolve this issue. The matter is now in the hands of the British Government, which is speaking with the Nigerian authorities.
“The distribution of slots at Heathrow is managed through an independent organisation, Airport Coordination Limited. ACL manages slot allocation in a fair and transparent manner, where all airlines have the opportunity to be involved.”
The statement further quoted BA’s Regional Commercial Manager for Africa, Mr. Ian Petrie, as saying, “We remain committed to Nigeria and have had a presence in the country for over 75 years. We want to keep serving Nigeria and hope that the two governments resolve this issue with sensibility and as soon as possible.
“While we have robust contingency plans in place, any disruption will have an impact on travellers to and from Nigeria, as well as local suppliers. At the moment, all flights are scheduled to operate as planned and we will keep our customers informed if there are any changes.”
Analysts said if the diplomatic row escalated and BA withdrew from the Nigerian market, FAAN might lose N1.8bn in annual airport revenue, which the airline would have paid for parking, landing and as rents at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
Aviation experts are, however, divided over government’s action on BA.
A former Director of the defunct Bellview Airlines, Mr. Gbenga Olowo, berated the government for not handling the dispute between Arik and the British authorities carefully, noting that the decision could send negative signals to other foreign investors.
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