President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Ministry of Aviation to expedite action on the establishment of a new national airline.
Erstwhile national carrier, Nigeria Airways, established in 1958, was liquidated in 2003.
Buhari gave the order on Wednesday while receiving briefing from officials of the Aviation Ministry, led by the Permanent Secretary, Binta Bello.
Addressing State House correspondents at the end of the briefing, Bello said the President was concerned about Nigeria not having a national air carrier, hence the instruction to re-establish one.
“Mr President is quiet concerned with lack of a national carrier for now and he has directed the ministry to look into the possibility of having a national carrier as soon as possible,’’ she said.
She said the president was also briefed on the challenges domestic airlines were facing in spite of federal government’s N300 billion intervention fund to enable them boost their operations.
She said the airlines were indebted to the regulatory agencies under the Aviation Ministry, among other challenges which had left some of them struggling to maintain optimum operational capabilities.
The Permanent Secretary announced that the four state-of-the-art terminals being constructed with loan from Chinese Bank would be ready by the first quarter of 2016.
She said that facilities being constructed at the four airports and ongoing expansion would enable them accommodate large aircraft like the Airbus 380.
Bello said the President also instructed the Ministry to begin the process of relinquishing airspace and radar control of neighbouring countries as these countries now have the capacity to cover their own airspace.
She reassured Nigerians and the international community that Nigeria’s airspace was safe and had just recorded a score of over 90 per cent by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Buhari also expressed concern over the enormous debt profile of the aviation sector, saying his administration would act quickly to redress the situation.
He said “I am concerned about the enormous debt profile in the aviation sector. The Federal Government has to do something quickly because safety, security and international respectability are involved here.
“Our airports are the windows through which people see our country. Anybody coming into the country will likely come through the airports. If we cannot secure and maintain our infrastructure, it will reflect very badly on us.”
The President then directed the ministry to speed up all processes and projects relating to the safety and security of Nigeria’s air transport system.
He further directed that counterpart funding for the upgrading of the international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu, should be captured in the 2016 budget.
The Permanent Secretary had informed the President that the five new International Airport Terminal Buildings were designed to meet the best international standards.
According to her, the terminals can cater for 62 million passengers annually when completed in the first quarter of 2016.
She said that the Lagos terminal, when completed, would be moving from seven million passenger capacity to 25 million, while the Abuja terminal would increase from five million to 16 million.
She added that the Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu terminals, when completed, would have the capacity for seven million passengers each.
