The number of domestic airlines in the country has dropped from 150 to eight in the last 17 years, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said.
The General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, said during an interaction with journalists that the development was due to lack of proper corporate governance and inability to fulfil safe operations, rather than multiple charges as some of the airlines had claimed.
He said, “At the time the NCAA started in January year 2000, we had about 150 airlines in our register. In 2006, they came down to 28, the rest went under. At a point, the number reduced to 12; and today, we have eight airlines.
“It was not because the NCAA didn’t do its regulation well. It is because we do what we need to do that is why those who have to fizzle out will naturally fizzle out. There was a time there were banks all over the place, but today many of them have gone under. You don’t blame this on the CBN; rather, you commend them because customers’ savings are guaranteed.
“There is no country where airlines are not going under. United States has the greatest number of mergers. If big carriers in the US are merging, why do we think airlines cannot merge in Nigeria? Businesses are run with corporate governance. It is not within the purview of the regulatory authority to say who will be the accountant or managing director.”
