Private jet and chartered aircraft
companies from Europe and North America, especially the United States
and Canada, are bracing for a boom in the Nigeria’s private jet market
as the nation gets ready for general elections in 2015, findings have
shown.
Top aviation officials disclosed that a
significant number of the companies from Europe, the US and Canada were
already submitting applications through local representatives to the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Aviation to bring
in aircraft into the country for charter operations.
It was also learnt that some foreign
private jets had started coming into country in preparation for the
boom, expected to begin as early as the first quarter of 2014. The
source said, “I think 2014 is going to be a very booming year for
private jet operators in the country. The local operators are warming up
for this seriously. But the interesting and surprising thing about this
is that a number of foreign companies, especially from Europe, the US
and Canada, have submitted documents, seeking permission to bring in
private jets into the country for charter operations.
“Well, government is still looking at
those applications because you know the recent reform in the general
aviation sector has changed the landscape of the charter business. We
don’t know what the Ministry of Aviation will do about it.”
According to another top official of the
Ministry of Aviation close to the matter, some of the applications by
the foreign companies were actually submitted by their local
representatives.
The official, however, pointed out that
the recent aviation law, which barred foreign-registered jets from
carrying out charter operation business in the country, had brought the
application process into a ‘suspense’ and nobody could say what could be
the next action on the matter.
The official said, “Some of the foreign
companies applying for permission to bring airplanes into the country
are actually doing so in partnership with some local representatives who
are submitting these applications on their behalf.
“The challenge now is some of these
foreign companies may not be ready to de-register their planes and make
them Nigerian-registered. If government insists, they may look for a
leeway because a number of them are desperate to come in to enjoy the
boom.”
Politicians had spent N2.52bn on charter
flights within 10 weeks preceding the April 2011 elections, according to
investigation by the PUNCH.
The politicians, it was learnt, used the
charter flights to move from one campaign venue to the other as the
April elections closed in.
Investigation by our correspondent also
revealed that each of the four major indigenous charter jet operators,
who conveyed politicians to various parts of the country for
electioneering, made about $420,000 (N63m) every week.
Industry sources said each of the
operators worked for about 70 hours a week with the fee for each hour
fixed at about $6,000 (N900,000).
As at 2011, the four major indigenous
charter jet operators in the country then were Kings Airlines, Wings
Aviation, Top Brazz Aviation and Overland Airways.
However, findings showed that other
airlines, including Associated Airlines, also engaged in charter
services occasionally, while some non-aviation companies, which own
private jets, rented them out to their politician-friends for charter
services.
Currently, the charter aircraft operators
in the country include Hanger8, Kings Airlines, Top Brazz Aviation,
Wings Aviation, Overland Airways, Arik Air, Vistajet and Aero
Contractors.
Further findings showed that Nigerians,
notably public office holders and businessmen, spent about N29.7bn on
charter flights in 2012.
Statistics from the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Nigerian
Airspace Management Agency, showed that the nation’s airports handled an
average of 50 charter flights per day in 2012.
Charter flight operators said politicians, state governors and other clients paid an average of $7,000 per hour for each flight.
Charter airline operators at the Murtala
Muhammed Airport, Lagos, said each of the charter flights took an
average of one and a half hours; hence, the operators generated about
$10,500 in revenue from each flight.
This means that eminent Nigerians who
patronised the services of the operators spent about $525,000 (N81.38m)
on charter flights each day in 2012.
Consequently, the Very Important Persons
must have spent about $191.625m (N29.7bn) on charter flights in 2012 at
$525,000 multiplied by 365 days.
The statistics for 2013 could not be obtained from the aviation authorities.
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