Nigerian Airlines Face Collapse Amidst N150bn Losses, Ground Handlers Threaten Action

The Nigerian aviation sector is teetering on the brink, with airline operators sounding the alarm over staggering losses that have reached an untenable N150 billion in a mere two-month period. This financial hemorrhaging has pushed operators to a breaking point, raising serious questions about the sector's sustainability.

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Airlines have bled over N150bn in two months. Where is the money going to come from? It’s gotten to a point where nobody can threaten anybody any longer.

The crisis is compounded by a standoff with ground handling companies, who are owed around N9 billion and are threatening to withhold services. This creates a precarious situation where airlines, already struggling to stay afloat, face further operational disruptions. The Airline Operators of Nigeria argue that the survival of ground handlers is intrinsically linked to the existence of airlines, emphasizing that without airlines, the ground handlers have no business.

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If airlines don’t exist, they don’t have a business. Nobody cares about the airlines; everybody wants to collect money. We’ve made up our minds now that whatever anybody wants to do, they can continue, but I can guarantee you that at the end of the day, everybody will come to their knees.

Roland Iyayi, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, articulated the dire reality: "Airlines have bled over N150bn in two months. Where is the money going to come from?" He stressed that the current demands from ground handlers are unrealistic given the airlines' financial state, warning that a "cash and carry" approach could cripple the industry entirely.

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There’s no way airlines can do anything regarding any debt, simply because it has become very difficult to survive. Airlines are struggling to survive.

From a Nigerian perspective, this crisis highlights the systemic challenges facing the aviation industry. The high cost of operations, coupled with economic pressures, has created a perfect storm. While the ground handlers have a right to be paid, their actions could inadvertently harm the entire ecosystem. The operators are pleading for understanding, arguing that the airlines must survive first for any part of the sector to have a future. The Nigerian government's intervention or a collaborative solution is urgently needed to prevent a complete collapse.

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If anything at all, the airlines have to survive first before the ground handling companies can even have any future as a business.