Nigerian Govt Slashes British Airways's flights to Lagos
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Nigerian Govt Slashes British Airways's flights to Lagos
In what is considered a retaliatory move, the Federal Government has slashed British Airways’ (BA) flights to Lagos from seven times a week to three, with effect from Tuesday, November 8.
Before the flight reduction, the United Kingdom national carrier, which has operated into Nigeria for over 75 years, was flying seven times weekly to Lagos and same number of times to Abuja.
The Ministry of Aviation, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) confirmed the directive given to BA.
The Federal Government’s decision to slash the frequency of the airline to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, is not unconnected with the forced suspension of Arik Air flights to London Heathrow from Abuja by UK’s Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) which denied the Nigerian airline the landing slots it requested.
This is the second time BA has run into a storm with Nigerian authorities, the first being when the military government under Gen. Sani Abacha banned the airline from flying into the country in the heat of British opposition to his government in 1996.
With the latest directive, BA’s landing and take-off times for the airline have also been rescheduled. Instead of landing at about 5.30pm and taking off at about 10.45pm, the airline will now arrive Lagos at 6.00am and leave at 10.00am.
This will adversely affect the airline’s passengers’ connectivity in Europe as they will have to wait for long hours at Heathrow before connecting to their final destinations.
In a statement, BA said that it was doing everything possible to resolve the issue, adding that the matter was now in the hands of its home government.
“We are doing all we can to resolve this issue. The matter is now in the hands of the British Government which is speaking with the Nigerian authorities. At the moment, all flights are scheduled to operate as planned and we will keep our customers informed if there are any changes to their flights,” it said.
In the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA), which Nigeria signed with the government of Britain, both countries agreed that airlines from the UK would fly 21 times to Nigeria and vice-versa.
But while UK has British Airways and Virgin Atlantic which fully utilise these frequencies, Nigeria has only Arik Air that utilises 14 frequencies only as the airline operates from Lagos to Heathrow and from Abuja to Heathrow seven times a week each.
BA does the same from both Abuja and Lagos for the same number of flights, while Virgin Atlantic flies to Heathrow from Lagos seven times a week.
The Chairman of Arik Air, Sir Joseph Arumemi Ikhide, explained to newsmen last week that the BASA signed between the two countries was only beneficial to British carriers.
He recalled that during the signing of the agreement years ago, both governments agreed to assist airlines owned by both countries that wished to fly into each other’s airspace.
But while British carriers freely come into Nigeria without hindrances, Arik Air, the only Nigerian airline that operate into Britain, faced impediments, including the denial of slot to land at Heathrow.
Ikhide lamented that when it was time for them to fly from Abuja to London, the British government told them that there were no slots and that at that point, the airline had to rent slots from the British Midland International (BMI) at £1.4 million between 2009 and 2010, disclosing that the airline paid an initial deposit of £600,000.
He further explained that the airline paid £52,250 monthly to BMI and after the expiration of that, the company increased it to £90,000 per month and that when the airline tried to negotiate the amount, BMI refused to shift ground and later ACL, which gives slots, said that there was no more slots.
When Arik insisted, ACL gave out uncoordinated slots to Arik Air which were not good for scheduled flight operations, thus frustrating the airline out of the route
Before the flight reduction, the United Kingdom national carrier, which has operated into Nigeria for over 75 years, was flying seven times weekly to Lagos and same number of times to Abuja.
The Ministry of Aviation, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) confirmed the directive given to BA.
The Federal Government’s decision to slash the frequency of the airline to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, is not unconnected with the forced suspension of Arik Air flights to London Heathrow from Abuja by UK’s Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) which denied the Nigerian airline the landing slots it requested.
This is the second time BA has run into a storm with Nigerian authorities, the first being when the military government under Gen. Sani Abacha banned the airline from flying into the country in the heat of British opposition to his government in 1996.
With the latest directive, BA’s landing and take-off times for the airline have also been rescheduled. Instead of landing at about 5.30pm and taking off at about 10.45pm, the airline will now arrive Lagos at 6.00am and leave at 10.00am.
This will adversely affect the airline’s passengers’ connectivity in Europe as they will have to wait for long hours at Heathrow before connecting to their final destinations.
In a statement, BA said that it was doing everything possible to resolve the issue, adding that the matter was now in the hands of its home government.
“We are doing all we can to resolve this issue. The matter is now in the hands of the British Government which is speaking with the Nigerian authorities. At the moment, all flights are scheduled to operate as planned and we will keep our customers informed if there are any changes to their flights,” it said.
In the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA), which Nigeria signed with the government of Britain, both countries agreed that airlines from the UK would fly 21 times to Nigeria and vice-versa.
But while UK has British Airways and Virgin Atlantic which fully utilise these frequencies, Nigeria has only Arik Air that utilises 14 frequencies only as the airline operates from Lagos to Heathrow and from Abuja to Heathrow seven times a week each.
BA does the same from both Abuja and Lagos for the same number of flights, while Virgin Atlantic flies to Heathrow from Lagos seven times a week.
The Chairman of Arik Air, Sir Joseph Arumemi Ikhide, explained to newsmen last week that the BASA signed between the two countries was only beneficial to British carriers.
He recalled that during the signing of the agreement years ago, both governments agreed to assist airlines owned by both countries that wished to fly into each other’s airspace.
But while British carriers freely come into Nigeria without hindrances, Arik Air, the only Nigerian airline that operate into Britain, faced impediments, including the denial of slot to land at Heathrow.
Ikhide lamented that when it was time for them to fly from Abuja to London, the British government told them that there were no slots and that at that point, the airline had to rent slots from the British Midland International (BMI) at £1.4 million between 2009 and 2010, disclosing that the airline paid an initial deposit of £600,000.
He further explained that the airline paid £52,250 monthly to BMI and after the expiration of that, the company increased it to £90,000 per month and that when the airline tried to negotiate the amount, BMI refused to shift ground and later ACL, which gives slots, said that there was no more slots.
When Arik insisted, ACL gave out uncoordinated slots to Arik Air which were not good for scheduled flight operations, thus frustrating the airline out of the route
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Totally on the Nigerian governments side,kudos to them,even though its smacks of double standards,in your face BA ideology
if its truly a govt to govt issue,why go for BA'S jugular and not bransons?
Why target LOS and not Abuja?
Does Branson have a hand in this?
BA should restrategise and realize its not "Nigerias favourite airline"
There's a lotta axes out there to grind with BA by Nigerians,ably fuelled by red devils of crawley,who are really "Nigerians favourite airline" on LOS-LHR.
if its truly a govt to govt issue,why go for BA'S jugular and not bransons?
Why target LOS and not Abuja?
Does Branson have a hand in this?
BA should restrategise and realize its not "Nigerias favourite airline"
There's a lotta axes out there to grind with BA by Nigerians,ably fuelled by red devils of crawley,who are really "Nigerians favourite airline" on LOS-LHR.
It's well known that LHR is operating to its capacity limits and so slots are very limited and very expensive. The Governments have agreed 21 flights into each others country, but why do all the airlines want to fly in and out of Heathrow? There are other international UK airports with less expensive slots that provide connection possibilities into mainland Europe.
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why would Arik want to keep flying 15-30 pax on a B737-800 between ABJ and LHR ? Sounds like they would save a fortune not operating the route.
This is not a Govt issue but ACL, hence why they had to lease slots from bmi, bmi now being sold off by LH would want slots back or sell them.
This is not a Govt issue but ACL, hence why they had to lease slots from bmi, bmi now being sold off by LH would want slots back or sell them.
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It doesn't have anything to do with how many pax are onboard the flights.
Its the whole principle that BA and Virgin can fly in unhindered and exercise the rights to the flights into Lagos and Abuja. But now after years of allowing these carriers in 1 Nigerian carrier wants to fly the Lagos-Heathrow route and Abuja-Heathrow but is met with this massive expense of £1.4 million a year due to some secret slot allocation closed club...I would personally give like for like if i was the Nigerian Government, and say Arik fly 7 flights a week out of Lagos-to Heathrow so the UK carriers can have 7 flights between them into Lagos.
Or i`d charge the 2 carriers similar fees to what Arik is being charged for flights into Heathrow and i`d rebate this money back to Arik to make it an even playing feilding with regard to costs.
So the Nigerian Government should protect its National organizations and business`s well done to them.
Its the whole principle that BA and Virgin can fly in unhindered and exercise the rights to the flights into Lagos and Abuja. But now after years of allowing these carriers in 1 Nigerian carrier wants to fly the Lagos-Heathrow route and Abuja-Heathrow but is met with this massive expense of £1.4 million a year due to some secret slot allocation closed club...I would personally give like for like if i was the Nigerian Government, and say Arik fly 7 flights a week out of Lagos-to Heathrow so the UK carriers can have 7 flights between them into Lagos.
Or i`d charge the 2 carriers similar fees to what Arik is being charged for flights into Heathrow and i`d rebate this money back to Arik to make it an even playing feilding with regard to costs.
So the Nigerian Government should protect its National organizations and business`s well done to them.
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some secret slot allocation closed club
The bit where slots are required BY LAW to be 'distributed in an equitable, non-discriminatory and transparent way by an independent coordinator'?
Nigeria's got a similar legal code to ensure an even playing field?
No, I didn't think so.
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If nobody is willing to pay the asking price of £90,000/month then they will lose them – under the 80:20 use-it-or-lose-it rule – or have to lower the price until they find a taker.
The point is – LHR slots have a value, and that value is an opportunity cost for the airlines that hold them and use them. The slots that BA uses on its Nigerian services could instead be leased to another airline (for the sake of argument, let’s call it ‘Arik Air’) for a specified amount (for the sake of argument let’s call it ‘more than £52,250/month’). But they don’t – they choose to use those valuable resources to fly to Nigeria. So if Arik Air are paying ‘more than £52,250’ for the same thing, there is a level playing field. On the other hand, if they are getting slots free from the pool – admittedly not very nice ones – the playing field must, therefore, be tipped in their (Arik Air’s) favour.
The point is – LHR slots have a value, and that value is an opportunity cost for the airlines that hold them and use them. The slots that BA uses on its Nigerian services could instead be leased to another airline (for the sake of argument, let’s call it ‘Arik Air’) for a specified amount (for the sake of argument let’s call it ‘more than £52,250/month’). But they don’t – they choose to use those valuable resources to fly to Nigeria. So if Arik Air are paying ‘more than £52,250’ for the same thing, there is a level playing field. On the other hand, if they are getting slots free from the pool – admittedly not very nice ones – the playing field must, therefore, be tipped in their (Arik Air’s) favour.
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"It's well known that LHR is operating to its capacity limits and so slots are very limited and very expensive. The Governments have agreed 21 flights into each others country, but why do all the airlines want to fly in and out of Heathrow? There are other international UK airports with less expensive slots that provide connection possibilities into mainland Europe. "
Well Lagos is getting quite congested too. I propose BA fly into Maiduguri or Ilorin for a while.
On a more serious note I think both governments should get together and work things out. Both country's benefit enormously from these flights and can't afford to have conflicts like this.
Well Lagos is getting quite congested too. I propose BA fly into Maiduguri or Ilorin for a while.
On a more serious note I think both governments should get together and work things out. Both country's benefit enormously from these flights and can't afford to have conflicts like this.
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Zazoo - correct I am afraid. I think to be fair to BA, Maiduguri may not measure up being too far. Closest available airport to LHR?? LGW, STN, LTN (pick your choice) - where they want the Nigerian Flag carrier to go.
I think because Lagos is also a "very busy airport" Ibadan and Akure will just be as good for BA.
I think because Lagos is also a "very busy airport" Ibadan and Akure will just be as good for BA.
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BA to buy BMI - What becomes of LHR Slots?
If BA buys BMI, what do you think will become of these slots - won't BA offer a couple of BMI held slots to ARIK at some affordable price in order to maintain their position on the Nigerian routes?
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Why should BA spoon feed arik?
I think it's a case of "welcome to the big league, Mr Johnson"
Influence peddling is not going to make he and his airline profitable. I hate to say this, he lacks the acumen to make this a successful venture.
Unfortunately, politics comes into play. Wished abuja intervened in reducing poverty afflicting 70% of the populace (105million people).
Let the madness continue
I think it's a case of "welcome to the big league, Mr Johnson"
Influence peddling is not going to make he and his airline profitable. I hate to say this, he lacks the acumen to make this a successful venture.
Unfortunately, politics comes into play. Wished abuja intervened in reducing poverty afflicting 70% of the populace (105million people).
Let the madness continue
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Level playing field ?
Lagos = Heathrow ?
Get a grip .
Time it all went back to Gatwick . Remember those halcyon days in the 70s when the Nigerian pax would turn up at LGW and be shocked that they could not take their new fridge and washing machines on the flight with them , Great times buying them for a fiver right in the check-in area , out the door and into the van . EVERY day !!
Lagos = Heathrow ?
Get a grip .
Time it all went back to Gatwick . Remember those halcyon days in the 70s when the Nigerian pax would turn up at LGW and be shocked that they could not take their new fridge and washing machines on the flight with them , Great times buying them for a fiver right in the check-in area , out the door and into the van . EVERY day !!
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Regardless of Mr "Arumen" 's acumen or lack of it in commercial aviation world, BA will not see a bit of give and take as spoon-feeding. If this matter gets out of hands all parties will suffers. BA has done worse unthinkable things in order to get their hands on profitable routes.
I'm sure the BA crews are gutted not to be flying to Lagos as often!
More so in the current political situation and impending terrorism threat.
Happiness is V1 at Lagos!
More so in the current political situation and impending terrorism threat.
Happiness is V1 at Lagos!
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This is great news for the UK!
Pity it didn't happen years ago.
Pity it didn't happen years ago.
Go on mods. Delete this!!!!!! It's obviously NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT is it????
