- Nigeria reportedly spends $2.5billion (over N900billion) annually on aircraft maintenance overseas
- The cost is spent on conducting C-check and other levels of aircraft maintenance overseas
- Most of the funds are expended on the technical personnel, airframe maintenance, landing gear, engine overhaul and aircraft spares
A report by THISDAY indicates that Nigerian airlines, presidential fleet, Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Police spend an estimated $2.5 billion (over N900billion) annually in conducting C-check and other levels of aircraft maintenance overseas.
According to the report, most of the funds are expended on the technical personnel, airframe maintenance, landing gear, engine overhaul and aircraft spares.
Aeronautical engineers, airline operators and pilots quoted in the report, said the amount would have been halved if Nigeria has major Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, a leasing company, which could also supply spares and simulators for the training of pilots.
The high cost of maintenance is also said to be responsible for the short lifespan of Nigerian carriers, which operate for average of 10 years.
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The long time spent in taking aircraft overseas has forced airlines to incur losses, making it difficult for domestic airlines to survive.
The Chief Executive Officer of Seven Star Global, a major maintenance facility that just berthed in Nigeria, Isaac Balami, said the air-frame maintenance alone costs Nigeria $1 billion annually at the average of $1 million per aircraft.
“Airlines expend about $1 million on the maintenance of air-frame alone and not to talk about the maintenance of landing gear and engine, which have different maintenance programme.
“These amounts are spent by Nigerian airlines, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigeria Air Force, the Nigeria Police, the Presidential Fleet and others that operate fixed wing aircraft. Maintenance cost is in terms of hardware and software,” Balami said.
He explained that huge cost of conducting checks on aircraft overseas does not jeopardise the safety of the Nigerian fleet because concerning commercial airliners, the regulatory authority, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is monitoring all the airlines.
He, however, noted that the huge cost has ensured that no Nigerian airline has existed for over 10 years, noting that Aero Contractors, which was established in 1959 started having problems 10 years after it went into scheduled commercial operation.
He said that one major reason Nigerian airlines go under is because of the delay in ferrying the aircraft overseas, noting that every day a Boeing B737 is left on ground, the airline loses $100,000.
The Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said he spends about $2.5 million on heavy checks on one aircraft.
Also, the account manager of Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo, said the airline spends about $1.2 million on conducting C-check on each of its aircraft.
Mbanuzuo also said Nigeria loses hugely conducting maintenance checks overseas.
He also explained that main input cost of a C-check is man hour cost, which is about $70 to $100 per hour, noting that the cost would drastically reduce if the maintenance is conducted locally.
The Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, said that maintaining aircraft locally would save Nigerian airlines at least 35 per cent of the cost of maintaining the aircraft overseas and save Nigeria so much foreign exchange.
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Meanwhile, the federal government may have ordered security agencies to begin search of private jets and their passengers as the 2019 campaigns and other electioneering activities begin.
According to media reports, security agencies including the operatives of the Department of State Services, Immigration, Customs and the Special Task Force on currency at the nation’s airports and private terminals would soon begin to search every private jet and their occupants before departures and after arrivals.
They were reportedly told that as the 2019 elections were drawing near, intelligence reports had shown that politicians might be trying to move funds both in local and foreign currencies via their private jets or hired planes to prosecute the campaigns and elections.
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Source: Legit.ng
