MINISTER of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has said that breaking the longstanding monopoly of foreign airlines on the United Kingdom-Nigeria route was one of the achievements he recorded for the Federal Government within his eight months in office.
Keyamo said the feat was achieved by actively engaging with the UK authorities to grant Air Peace, a local airline, reciprocal operating rights under Nigeria’s Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with the UK.
According to him, the feat led to a significant reduction in international airfares and benefiting Nigerian travellers.
Also achieved within the period was his ability to resolve the protracted land dispute with the settlers that had stalled the commencement of the construction of the Abuja Airport second runway two weeks into his tenure.
Within a month in office, the minister was able to order all international airlines to relocate to the new international terminal in Lagos, making it fully operational to provide the opportunity for immediate solutions to the design flaws in the facility that had previously rendered the terminal unusable for many international flights.
Rolling out his performance in eight months, which falls within the period the government of President Bola Tinubu and the ministers were unveiling their scorecards, Keyamo said in partnership with the immigration service, he expedited and supervised the remodelling of the arrival hall of Wing E at Lagos International Airport into a brand-new facility through a Public-Private Partnership.
Within the period under review, the minister cited how he ensured the repair and reactivation of Lagos’ airport domestic Second Runway (18R), which had been out of service for nearly a year before assuming office, thereby restricting the busiest airport in the country to the use of only one runway for that period of time.
According to him, by working closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), he ensured the clearance of longstanding backlog of trapped funds for foreign airlines, resolving an issue that had persisted for years.
Keyamo also recently obtained the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) approval to boost revenue and prevent losses at Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) facilities nationwide by requiring all VIPs to pay access fees at all airports’ toll gates, thereby departing from a tradition that existed for decades that gave VIPs exemptions at the airports.
Within the eight months’ period, the United States-Nigeria Open Skies Air Transport Agreement entered into force, which Keyamo described as a huge step that will pave the way for Nigeria’s domestic carriers to start operating the route in full.
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