…International flights to commence September 5
By Frank Momoh
With six months of virtual inactivity at Nigeria’s Aviation industry occasioned by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the revenue of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has nosedived by about 95%, Mr. Rabiu Yadudu, the agency’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director has said.
FAAN, he explains is set to begin the implementation of the new Passenger Service Charge (PSC) for domestic and international flights, which is part of grand measures to up its revenue.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA), has said international flights to and from Nigeria has been shifted from August 29 to September 5.
Yadudu said the new increase will take effect from Tuesday next week will result in 100% for domestic passenger who will be made to pay N2000 instead of N1000, while flights within West Africa will also now attract $50 per passenger as against the current $20, while international flights jump from $50 to $100.
The MD, however, said the agency’s activities and operations are capital intensive and has not increased service charge since 2011, this is despite the humongous invested the federal government has put into the agency, adding that the current N1000 PSC is no longer sustainable as it does not correlate with the realities of cost-related inflation, which the CBN put at N12.82%.
He said: “FANN, until late 2019, was collecting the naira equivalent of PSC at an official rate of N305.50-N344.38 to a dollar when airlines were collecting a subsisting market rate of N360 to a dollar.’’
According to him, the federal government was increasing its direct deduction from FAAN to 40% from 2021 and with such deduction, FAAN would have a shortfall of more than N16 billion on overhead cost.