Airfare hike: Rotarian urges FG to release aviation palliatives

By Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo

The Federal government has been called upon to release much advertised palliatives to the aviation industry in the country to save struggling domestic airlines

The president, Rotary Club of Falomo, Rotarian Peter Nwaochie who made this call in an interview at the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria shortly after presenting sets of wheelchairs to the organization said every domestic airlines in the country was struggling to make ends meet hence the astronomical rise in air fare

Nwaochie, who was an aide to Mrs Kema Chikwe a former minister of aviation under president obasanjo, said the current pandemic raving the entire world has greatly affected aviation industry  bringing it to a sorry state in Nigeria

He regretted that presently nothing has been done in form of palliatives to rescue struggling domestic airlines adding that funds promised airlines and aviation sector should be made available to them as a cushion in effect

“We are living at unusual time and the aviation industry is very strategic, it’s a catalyst for development in any modem economy, but in Nigeria today aviation is in a sorry state. Airline operators are talking of palliatives, support, nothing is being done ”

According to him, the position of the government revealed that they were not ready to do anything” The government is not ruling pigs, goats but human human beings.

Nwaochie noted that most Nigerians were not happy with the sky rocketing of airfares in the country, calling for an urgent arrest to the ugly trend in the fare wars  but human beings, most people are not happy, aviation fuel has gone up 100 percent ”

He commended the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority NCAA for carrying out their oversight function deligently hence the country has not recorded any serious crash and warned against cutting corners