The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has enjoined Nigerians to appreciate private airline operators in the country for their efforts and hard work.
Naija News reports that Keyamo said most African airlines are subsidized by governments of those countries, but Nigerian airline operators bear the cost of their businesses without any government subsidy.
He stated this on Thursday during the Ministerial Press briefing organized by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
The Minister explained that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was the first government that has taken it upon itself to put as one of its clear objectives the support and growth of our local airlines, whilst holding them to the best international standards.
“In the whole of Africa, all the airlines in Africa are either sponsored, supported or subsidized by the governments of those countries. Rwanda Air, South African Air, Egypt Air, Moroccan Air, call them, name them. So everyone, it is only in Nigeria that you have robust and 100% private participation. So it’s a different ballgame. And our policies will be different, our approach will be different. Don’t compare Nigeria to other African countries. We are not like them. They don’t have private participation at all. All their airlines are subsidized by governments, by their federal government.
“So it’s important, therefore, for the Nigerian government to turn its own attention to these local operators who keep our skies and our aviation alive, our ecosystem alive. We have 13 active private local airlines in Nigeria that service our local, our domestic and regional routes, and some international routes too. And so it’s our deliberate policy to make a lot of policy to support their growth and development,” he said.
The former Minister of Labour and Employment under former President Muhammadu Buhari, reaffirmed the commitment of President Tinubu and his Ministry to continue in providing good policies that would help Nigeria airline operators.
