Professionals and veterans in the aviation sector under the umbrella of the Aviation Roundtable (ART) have decried the decline in capacity by airlines following the temporary cessation of flight services by two operators – Aero Contractors and Dana Air.
Aero Contractors, the oldest airline in Nigeria, last Wednesday stopped scheduled flight services citing the challenging operating environment occasioned by Aviation fuel scarcity and the continued fall of naira against the dollar, while the same day, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) suspended licences of Dana Air while the carrier is currently undergoing an audit.
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The suspension of flights by the two airlines has worsened capacity constraints in the sector as there are limited flight operations for passengers across the country.
Daily Trust reports that both Aero Contractors and Dana Air used to operate about 40 flights daily across their route networks but their absence has put pressure on other airlines which are equally gasping for breath on account of the skyrocketing Jet fuel price and foreign exchange scarcity.
Speaking at the weekend, Assistant Secretary of ART, Olumide Ohunayo, in a statement said: “We are aware of the serious negative impact these developments will have on the travelling public.
“ART will, as its usual practice, inquire into the root causes of these very discouraging incidents that result in loss of capacity for the traveling public and make findings and recommendations to the stakeholders (government and the public).”
It however called on members of the air traveling public “to be patient while steps are being taken to restore normal and safe services.”
