Many
air passengers now opt for road travel as the aviation sector grapples
with crisis of confidence and shortage of domestic airlines, UDEME EKWERE reports
Fewer passengers are now travelling by air, despite being the safest and fastest means of transportation.
This is mostly as a result of the rising
cases of air accidents, disappointments, near crashes and allegation of
corruption rocking the sector in the past six weeks.
For instance, the Minister of Aviation,
Ms. Stella Oduah, has been embattled in the last few weeks, following
the controversy surrounding the alleged purchase of two armoured
vehicles worth N255m for her by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
Three domestic airlines whose operations
were halted in October for being involved in either an accident or
incident have not returned to business.
One of them is the Associated Airlines, whose plane crashed in Lagos on October 3, killing 15 out of the 20 people on board.
Also, an aircraft belonging to IRS Airlines had an emergency landing 10 days later, due to hydraulic failure.
On October 7, 2013, the Federal
Government again suspended the operations of Dana Airlines, citing
reasons of flight hiccups and the need for an audit.
A visit by our correspondent to the
Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 and the General Aviation Terminal, both in
Lagos, on Friday, confirmed that the usual hustle and bustle had reduced
as fewer people were seen around the cubicles of about three remaining
airlines making bookings for flight tickets.
Many of the officials were seen exchanging jokes and pleasantries with one another as they had fewer passengers to attend to.
A passenger, Mr. George Ukah, told our
correspondent that he was supposed to fly with about six of his
colleagues for a seminar in Abuja, adding that five of them had to
change their minds about going by air at the last minute.
He said, “As I speak with you, our
company is sponsoring seven of us for a seminar in Abuja, but I was
surprised that at the last minute, six of them decided that they would
use the road option.
“They said they were no longer
comfortable going by air for now due to all the issues in the sector. It
was really surprising to me, and now, it is just two of us that are
going by air.”
Another passenger, Ms. Ngozi Eze, said
that she came to the airport to see if she could get a refund from one
of the airlines for her booking, which she did a few weeks back, adding
that she felt the road option would be better for now.
“I booked for this flight to
Port-Harcourt about a fortnight ago, for a trip early next week, but
now, I have decided that I will go by road. Some of my friends that have
been plying the Lagos – Port-Harcourt route said the roads are better,
and the buses are in good shape, so I am here to see if I can get a
refund, because of all the problems that the sector has been
experiencing and you know it is even cheaper to go by road; I want to
try it and see,” she said.
An official of a major carrier in Lagos
told our correspondent that the airline had been recording lower
patronage in the last few weeks, and had resorted to rescheduling its
flights in order not to run at a total loss.
She said, “Lately, activities have not
been going on as usual; we have noticed a general reduction in
patronage. I think some passengers are a bit skeptical about air travel
for the time being.
“Perhaps, this is as a result of the
crash and other incidents that have been recorded in the Nigerian
airspace in the last few weeks. I think more people are considering the
road option.”
A visit to the major motor parks in
Maza-maza, Lagos, showed an unusual crowd of passengers waiting to
travel to various parts of the country.
A senior official of the ABC Transport
Plc, who simply gave his name as Tunde, confirmed to our correspondent
that there was indeed an increase in the number of passengers travelling
by the luxury buses in the past two months.
He said, “It is true, we have witnessed
an increased patronage in the last six weeks, and lately, we have more
buses plying the routes because of the increase in the number of
passengers.
“For instance, we used to have about
seven buses leaving on a daily basis for the Lagos-Abuja route, but
lately, we have about 12 to 14 buses. The same thing applies to our
Lagos-Enugu and Lagos-Calabar routes.”
He added, however, that the increase in
number of commuters had not resulted in any significant increase in the
fares. “No, the fares have not gone up that much yet, remember that
December is just around and that is the period when we would have even
higher number of travellers, so the fares would go up then.”
At the New Garage, Ojota, the story is similar.
An official who works with Kogi Line, Mr.
Dare Olatunji, said that major transporters had acquired new vehicles
to meet with the increasing demand of passengers.
He said, “Obviously, a lot of people we
now see at the park are people who, you would have found at the airport,
but for some reasons, they have chosen to use the road. A lot of them
come with peculiar demands, and some do not mind paying for two or three
seats for their convenience.
“Some of them even charter a whole
14-seater bus, for only about seven passengers; you will know that they
are in money. I think it is a good business for us, and we know more
people will be encouraged to come along, despite the distance of road
travel.”
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