Foreign Airlines Sell N231bn Tickets

The Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority NCAA has disclosed that foreign airlines sold N231 billion tickets, while  domestic carriers sold  N73 billion in 2013.
This was disclosed by the Director General  of the regulatory body, Captain Usman  Mukhtar, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos, Thursday while delivering a key note  address ast the 20th annual League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC).
Captain  Mukhtar who was represented by the Director of Consumer Protection Directorate  Mr. Adamu Abdullahi, further  disclosed that during the period, domestic airlines airlifted five million passengers across the country and 277,000 passengers were airlifted at various  destinations in the  West Africa coast.
Also passenger movement  on international  routes  was put at 14 million and 437,000 were also airlifted to African destinations.
In 2013, the total amount of ticket sold by domestic airlines was N73 billion naira on the other hand, the foreign airlines sold  tickets worth N231 billion in the same year. The domestic  airlines  were able to ferry 5 million passengers across Nigeria in 2013. On the West  Coast route  277,000 passengers were moved, in intra-African routes, 437,000 passengers and on the international route 14 million passengers were are lifted.
Mukhtar said all these were achieved with the domestic airline operating a total of 63,000 frequencies across the country  and on the West Coast there were  4,000 frequencies,   also 4,000 intra-Africa and 7,300 intercontinental  frequencies.
He said in recognition of the increase  in the  volume of passengers, the  Directorate of Consumer Protection (DCP) has intensified efforts to process  complaints and ensure comfort of air travellers.
The Director General also said that the country had become an attractive destination for foreign airlines, adding that Nigeria presently has Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with 78 countries.
“Nigeria has therefore become an attractive destination for foreign  airlines and ceaseless  application  for additional frequencies. At present Nigeria has BASA with 78 countries.
“Nigeria has  therefore become an attractive destination for foreign airlines and ceaselss applications for additional frequencies. At present, Nigeria has BASA  with 78  countries. However, some  of these are not being utilized. In order to  strengthen and widen  our BASA with existing and new  countries, Nigerian delegates  will be attending an International Civil Aviation Organisation  (ICAO 2014) from 17th -21st  November 2014 at Bali, Indonesia” he said.
Speaking on the impending ICAO audit, he said “In the ICAO audit conducted a few years back, Nigeria scored  very high marks. But there is an impending  ICAO audit again and I am  sure no one is losing sleep over that as the authority  has proven to be.