By Doris Isreal Ijeoma
The Federal Government of Nigeria is contemplating restricting British Airways from operating at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos due to a dispute over airport slots in the United Kingdom.
Currently, Nigeria’s leading airline, Air Peace, is compelled to operate flights to Gatwick Airport instead of Heathrow, the UK’s primary airport.
On Friday, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced that the ministry had reached out to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), requesting that Air Peace be allowed to operate at Heathrow Airport in accordance with the reciprocity principle outlined in the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA).
Speaking at the 28th Annual Conference of the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) in Lagos, Keyamo argued that it was unjust to allow British Airways unrestricted access to Nigeria’s busiest airport, MMIA, while Nigerian airlines were not granted the same privileges in the UK under the BASA agreement.
Keyamo mentioned that the Nigerian ministry was still awaiting a response from their UK counterparts.
He stressed that countries should adhere to the BASA arrangements Nigeria has with other governments and warned that failure to do so could result in retaliatory actions from the Nigerian Government.
Keyamo highlighted the disparity in international flight operations, noting that many international airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa, Delta, and United Airlines operate multiple flights to Nigeria, while Nigerian airlines are not reciprocating these routes.
Even South African Airways operates flights to Nigeria without a Nigerian counterpart doing the same.
Air Peace currently manages to operate flights to London, albeit to Gatwick, but efforts are underway to secure access to Heathrow. Keyamo criticized the notion of a “slot committee,” urging the UK to recognize and respect existing bilateral agreements.
The Minister said, “We have already written to the United Kingdom to give Nigerian carriers, especially Air Peace Heathrow Airport, which is a tier one airport, just as we have British Airways, using our Lagos airport. We may as well give BA Ilorin to operate to. When we asked for Heathrow Airport, you’re telling us to go to a slot committee. Who does that? Air Peace I can tell you is on its way to Heathrow away from Gatwick.
“The local operators are struggling to cover their routes locally, not to talk of our international routes; Air France is coming here 10 times a week, we are not going to Paris, Lufthansa is coming here, we are not going to Frankfurt, Delta and United from America are all coming here, but we are not reciprocating. Even, South African Airways is coming here, we are not going there.
“We only managed to have Air Peace in London and to Gatwick, but we are pushing for them to take us to Heathrow. You can’t tell us you have a slot committee. Your airport operator should know that you have an existing relationship and they should respect it.
“For connectivity, people prefer Heathrow. That is an airport you can have an airline to codeshare with so that there can be connectivity.”
