By Francis Ogwo
The Federal Government has approved N5bn as bailout fund to the country’s aviation sector as a way of ameliorating the harsh effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the sector with its extended lockdowns and flight restrictions.
Recent information emerging from the Aviation Ministry reveals that the Federal government would soon start disbursing the approved bailout fund of N5bn to the operators
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, gave the assurance to the key stakeholders during the ongoing three-day public hearing to repeal and enact Acts of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), and that of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
According to the Minister, in the sharing formula of the N5bn bailout fund, N4 billion would be disbursed to domestic airlines, while the balance of N1 billion would be evenly distributed among other agencies and relevant aviation companies, which have been affected by the novel pandemic.
However, while reacting, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Adeyemi Smart, was of the view that the bailout fund was too small to cushion the effects of the pandemic on businesses in the sector while urging the Federal Government to review the figure to a ‘more reasonable amount that would be sufficient to bail the operators out’.
Smart said: “N4 billion is very little to solve some of the problems of the airlines, who are battling to survive. We urge the government to take charge of the sector. They need to give them more and they also need to support in all ways.
“That COVID-19 pandemic pummeled Nigeria’s aviation industry is no longer a subject of argument or analysis, but the impact of its devastating effects will take a long time and resources to erase. A beleaguered sector that was merely floating, got hit by a ravaging pandemic, albeit unprepared, and caught some of the airlines hemorrhaging,” Smart added.
Recall that at the resumption of aviation activities after over three-month lockdown as a result of the whirlwind of COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government promised to assist the industry with N27 billion bailout palliative, to cushion the effects of the lockdown in the industry.
Observers say the crippling of the sector by the pandemic had sent most businesses out of operation and that the bailout would be the vital catalyst for quick recovery of the sector.
