NCAA Debunks Claims About Airline Selling Tickets in Foreign Currency
The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has described as untrue, claims that foreign airlines are selling their tickets in foreign currency in Nigeria due to their earnings that are trapped with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It will be recalled that some foreign carriers like Turkish Airline, Lufthansa and Delta were being accused in some media of selling tickets only in foreign currency with a view to evading the forex liquidity crisis in Nigeria as well as the alleged upward review of charges by the local authorities.
Speaking to journalists on this development, the director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, stated that none of the foreign carriers had notified the concerned agencies of any change in ticketing modalities.
Nuhu maintained that the Nigerian currency (Naira) remains the statutory currency of transactions in the aviation sector, adding that the regulation mandates operating airlines to notify the NCAA where there are significant changes, but none of the operating airlines have approached the authority on dollarisation of flight tickets.
Nuhu said, “In fact, on one of the airlines that is claimed in the social media to be selling in dollars, I actually got its ticket purchased today in naira in preparation for the ICAO event coming up next month. I bought the ticket ahead of time so that I can get a lower price. So, we are not aware of dollarisation where airlines have demanded dollars for the purchase of tickets.”
He recounted that the NCAA has also not reviewed mandatory charges on airlines in the last 10 years, stressing that though the substantive rates are outdated, yet they were not unmindful of the current harsh economic environment to jack up the charges.
DG NCAA stated that certainly, we would have to sit at a round-table to review the charges but not now if at all, we will have to review the charges with the stakeholders.
On his part the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, noted that the charges collected by the Authority are statutory; hence it cannot be increased without the knowledge of its esteemed passengers and other airport users.
According to Yadudu, “While it is true that the cost of aviation fuel has gone astronomically high and has adversely affected airline operators worldwide, culminating in an increase in ticket fares, we want to reiterate that FAAN has not increased its charges.
He explained that they are mindful of the challenges of their esteemed passengers and other airport users as a result of the increase in airfares; hence the need not to increase the charges.
The MD FAAN said, however, that the Federal Government and agencies within the aviation sector have intensified efforts in order to ensure that the challenges facing it are resolved.
