The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) has urged the Federal Government to put things in place to ensure a functional national carrier.
The ATSSSAN’s President, Mr. Benjamin Okewu, who said this in a statement made available to our correspondent on Tuesday, stressed the need for the establishment of a new national carrier in the country to improve activities in the aviation sector.
According to him, the Nigerian aviation sector has not been operating in its full capacity and has been incurring huge losses over the years due to the absence of a national carrier.
Okewu noted, for instance, that the country had lost huge amount through its Bilateral Air Services Agreements, as there were no national carrier flying major routes out of the country.
This, he said, had in turn, benefited foreign airlines operating in the country, which had taken advantage of the absence of a national carrier to explore the country’s aviation sector.
He, however, advised the government to discard the idea of forming a national carrier from existing airlines but to come up with a new airline entirely.
He said, “Without our airlines flying into other countries from Nigeria, we are losing a lot of money; there is need for a new national carrier.
“Government should do away with plans to map out a national carrier from existing airlines; we need a new airline for that purpose, and not from the existing fleets.”
Okewu advised any new aviation minister that would be appointed by the government to complete all ongoing projects started by the former minister, adding that there was no need to abandon terminals.
He noted that if the past ministers had contributed their quotas through building of terminals, the country would have been building new airports by now and not remodeling old ones.
