Chinedu Eze

Air travellers from Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leon, The Gambia and other countries in the West Coast have shunned travelling through Nigeria to other long-distance destinations because of wrong negative perception of Nigeria as insecured country, industry experts have said. President of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria (AOPAN), Dr Alex Nwuba and the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, said that such perception, which needs to be corrected is the reason why some travellers from West and Central Africa have to travel to Europe before connecting flights to another African country.

The experts noted that Nigeria is a natural hub by its location but it is yet to maximise the opportunity offered by its location and the fact that it has the highest number of airlines that operate in West and Central Africa.

 Nwuba and Sansui, who was represented by Head of Sales at Aero Contractors, Mr Benedict Oluwafemi, spoke at JustAlive Communications Limited Maiden Summit themed: ‘Nigeria’s Transport Infrastructure: Innovation for a Sustainable Future,’ held in Lagos.

In his speech, Nwuba explained that Nigeria’s transit challenges should not be blamed on infrastructure, but on the fact that Nigeria’s neigbours believe that the country is a dangerous place to travel through, noting that such wrong perception must be addressed to cultivate trust and confidence in the minds of potential travellers from the West Coast. 

He also said that Nigerian carriers should look at their operational model and review it to be in tandem with international practices and also meet the expectation of the travellers.

On his part, Sanusi lamented the infrastructure gaps at the airports, saying airlines’ operational costs were also increasing because the facilities have become porous, which has allegedly allowed persons to pilfer bags of passengers.

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