Wow! You wouldn’t Believe How Many Billions Airlines Are Owing
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika made a startling revelation on the humongous debts Nigerian airlines owe various aviation agencies.
Sirika who made the disclosure in Abuja on Monday at the ongoing stakeholders and general public hearing on the repeal and enactment of civil aviation bills of all the aviation agencies put the staggering debts of airlines at $6, 993, 284 million and N19, 365, 374,336 billion as non remittance of Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and (CSC) collected on behalf of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA )
This came amid call by counsel to AON, Chinasa Unaegbulam of Stream Sower & Kohn Chinasa Unaegbunam appealed to the Senate charged the Senate to repeal Clause 23 of the Civil Aviation Act asking for the reduction of the 5% TSC/CSC.
According to her, she said operators needed a lifeline and also asked that the governing board of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) must also consist a member of the AON stating that this would give the airlines a voice.
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The Minister, who initiated a point of order, said that the monies being owed were not charges as erroneously stated by the learned lady but a charge collected on the NCAA’s behalf by the airlines to be remitted which was not done.
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According to him, the AON currently owes US$6, 993, 284 million and N19, 365, 374,336 billion on the 5% currently shared by the regulator, the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA), Nigeria Meteorological Agency ( NIMET), Nigeria College of Aviation Technology ( NCAT) and the Accident zain estivation Bureau ( AIB).
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Currently, there is a plan to change the dynamics of the sharing formula but as it stands the NCAA gets 56%, NAMA 22%, NiMET 9%, NCAT-7% and AIB 6%
Group Captain John Ojikutu who also spoke accused the airlines of humongous debts stating that they are also part of the problem.
He also queried the sharing formulae of the 5% TSC/CSC asking for a review.
