Domestic airlines like Air Peace to be given the go-ahead to fly international routes

NIGERIA Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) officials have finalised plans to make it easy for domestic airlines to commence international flights as part of a grand plan to boost the sector and provide for its expansion.

Several domestic Nigerian airlines such as Air Peace, have had their eyes fixed on the lucrative foreign market for a while now but have been unable get authorisation to commence operations. Lagos to London for instance, is one of the most lucrative routes in global aviation and international operators like BA, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Emirates have dominated it.

These foreign airlines charge and arm and a leg to fly to Nigeria and domestic airlines have been unable to enter the market to undercut their exorbitant prices. However, according to Captain Musa Nuhu, the NCAA director-general, as from henceforth, domestic airlines will now be able to fly to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Speaking on the sidelines of the just-concluded Aviation African Summit and Exhibition in Abuja, Captain Nuhu said these airlines can apply for licences immediately without any hassle. It is expected that Air Peace, Omni Blu and United Nigerian Airlines will be the first companies to apply for Third Country Operator certificates to enable them operate in the international marketplace.

Captain Nuhu said: “The few airlines that have come to us and asked for help, we resolved the issue within a couple of hours. Sometimes it just takes a phone call from the director-general to his counterpart director-general to get that done.

“We have fought with some European countries, and we have got a Third Country Operator certificate for our airlines to operate in these countries.” In July, Air Peace chairman, Allen Onyema, expressed concerns over the denial of his airline the right to fly from Lagos to  London.