Nigeria: Sirika assures affordable fares when flights restart
The Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika has assures government is doing everything possible to ensure that airfares do not skyrocket beyond the reach of Nigerians at flight resumption. He said the airfares maybe different but it would not be something passengers cannot afford. Senator Sirika gave the assurance at the Presidential Task Force, PTF on COVID-19 briefing on Monday.
“Yes we are doing everything to ensure that ticket prices are not skyrocketed they may be different but it would be something passengers can afford.” He stated that the Ministry had held series of meetings with stakeholders in the industry to find out how best they could open the industry in such a way it does not bring hardship to the airline industry in general.
“On whether that will affect the propensity to fly, I think that is the whole purpose of us interacting with the industry to come out to ensure passengers are encouraged to fly because the huge significant of air transportation cannot be underscored, it is an industry where has huge economic advantage to the contribution to the national GDP.”
According to him, measures were being put in place to cushion the effects as airports goes beyond centers for take off and landing of aircraft. While stressing that the industry contributes to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, the Minister said the industry is a center for huge economic and social activities.
“Airports as you known does not only mean centers of aircraft take off and landing of aircraft, they centers of huge economic activities and social activities, they have become cities now or another word for it aerotropolis so the happenings around airports certainly is putting people together and getting them to socially interact and do businesses and create huge economic activities, so we are doing all of that and we are coming up with measures to cushion and reduce that effect.”
