This is just as key players are calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make available enough forex to the domestic airlines to enable them  carry out the required maintenance on their aircraft and bring back those that have already undergone maintenance in foreign countries but could not be brought back due to lack of forex.

Owing to the menace of flight delays and cancellations, many travelers are being subjected to deeper frustrations by the domestic airlines as the excitement of air travel is gradually being eroded by the operational hiccups.

While many of the affected passengers, out of frustration had in the past weeks resorted to the self-help of engaging the officials of the airlines in open confrontation to express their anger, the domestic airlines are blaming their failure to provide timely departure and cancellation on the scarcity of forex.

Since the maintenance of the aircraft is done in foreign currencies, many of the airline operators are under serious financial predicaments aggravated by the lack of access to foreign exchange.

The inaccessibility of the airlines to adequate forex is making a mockery of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA)’s stipulations regarding the number of backup aircraft required to serve as a replacement in times of logistics emergencies.

The flight cancellations and delays being experienced by passengers according to key players may have been taken care of unnoticed with the availability of more aircraft in the fleet of the operators.

Many operators of the airlines had at different occasions lamented how the shortage and unstable foreign exchange have been hampering their service delivery.

The latest of such complaints came from the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Chief Obiora Okonkwo, who lamented how scarcity of foreign exchange has been hindering the performances of the Nigerian airlines.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the refusal of the apex bank to approve the application for the United States dollars to some airlines, Obiora remarked: “CBN had not given dollars to airlines since February 2021 owing to the scarcity of foreign currency. Aircraft business is capital-intensive. The solution to the survival of airlines is access to spare parts. Aircraft spare parts are not sold here in Nigeria, they are sold overseas. The aviation industry should be given all the necessary support to ensure the survival of airlines.”

He equally blamed the seeming increase in airfares to exchange rate that hit N478 to $1 at the black market. Many passengers had in the past weeks lamented how their missions were derailed through flight cancellations or delays on getting to the airports.

Among the victims was a current Nigerian Ambassador who lamented how the airline he had booked to fly with to Abuja for a meeting at the Presidency canceled his flight without prior notice, leaving him frustrated. In some extreme cases, many of the passengers are left stranded at the airports for five hours or more due to flight delays or even at times outright cancellations as the operators continue to cite operational reasons for the problem. In the defense of the airlines, a stakeholder stated:

If they (airlines) have dollars those that have their aircraft on maintenance overseas will bring them back. When there are more aircraft, if one has AOG, another will be deployed so it won’t disrupt schedules. If there are more aircraft also each one will not be over flogged with many flights. So the CBN should provide airlines with forex to bring their aircraft back. There are even some that are due for checks that cannot be taken out because there are no dollars.”