Yemisi Izuora
Local airline operators have condemned the decision by the Federal Government through the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) to award majority of Hajj traffic to foreign airlines.
The reaction is coming as NAHCON awards the lion share of the pilgrims to be airlifted to foreign operators over the years.
The Managing Director of Medview Airlines Plc, Muneer Bankole while reacting on the issue in Abuja during the inauguration of the 28-member Air Carriers Screening Committee for the 2018 Hajj operations called on NAHCON to give priority to indigenous airlines over their foreign counterparts to create employment opportunities for Nigerians.
The Federal Government, it would be recalled had signed a pact in 2010 with Saudi Arabia that 50 per cent of Hajj passengers would be carried by a Saudi Arabian airline, Flynas,
Sources however, said Saudi Arabia, being the only country where Hajj is performed, has a royal decree giving Saudi Designated Carriers (not Flynas alone) the right to airlift 50 per cent of Hajj Traffic under Government quota from any country coming for Hajj and that the arrangement is beyond NAHCON and pre-dates the current leadership of the Commission.
Also an Aviation consultant and former Commandant, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Group Capt. John Ojikutu described it as a total rip off and called on government to query the Saudi authorities over this move.
He lamented that the domestic airlines are not seen championing any of the causes or challenging the government on why there had been preferences for foreign airlines on government aviation policies.
Ojikutu noted that that the way to go about it was to query the Saudi decision to deny the nation the right to fully organize the airlifting of our nationals or find out those behind Flynas Airline.
Inaugurating the Committee, the Acting Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Yusuf Adebayo charged them to handle the assignment diligently and with the fear of Allah.
The Acting Chairman further advised them to select qualified and competent air carriers with viable capacity that would effectively transport Nigerians pilgrims to and from the Holy Land.