According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2019, the total number of passengers who traveled by air worldwide was 4.5 billion. While this does not necessarily mean that every person in the world has flown, it is a significant proportion of the global population.
However, it is true that there are still many people who have never been on a flight, particularly in low-income countries where air travel may be less accessible or affordable. Nevertheless, air travel has become increasingly common and accessible for people around the world in recent decades.
In Nigeria, despite the improvement in air travel there is still room for improvement. Local airlines haves been dogged by all sorts of societal and business environment problem. The cost of forex and other sundry circumstances have plummeted the prospects of growth.It has to be stated, despite its
effort’s government hasn’t done enough as regards the development of the airline sector.During COVID 19, when most airlines were affected, the reaction by the government was only a paltry intervention, which industry watchers affirm was a far cry from the incumbent reality.
All of these challenges have led to the ever changing face of the Airline sector in Nigeria, from the good old days of Okada Airlines, it is now Airpeace that dominates the local airspace but this is not without challenges.The frequent flight cancellations and administrative problems have hampered performance, the customers are always at the receiving event of these challenges.It is worthy to note recently, that Airpeace’s decision to return money for cancellation of flight was the first of its kind as customer satisfaction had always been the albatross of the sector.
I should state that the Nigerian aviation sector can only improve if the government is ready to ensure a viable business environment and holistically bring development to the Nigerian economy—there is a correlative effect between the Nigerian economy and the aviation sector.I must also add the recent attempt by the Minister of Aviation to set up a national carrier without the collaborative support of the local players in the industry is an indication that government still treats the sector with indignation and this must be rebuked.
There’s so much potential waiting to be harnessed in the aviation sector but we must have a collaborative framework to ensure unparalleled success.
