Kuru also castigated the various fees and charges imposed on airline operators by agencies in the sector, saying with such high fees, no airline in Nigeria could successfully operate for 10 years without a major crisis.
Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Mr Ahmed Kuru, has advised government to make the debt-ridden Arik Air a national carrier.
Kuru also castigated the various fees and charges imposed on airline operators by agencies in the sector, saying with such high fees, no airline in Nigeria could successfully operate for 10 years without a major crisis.
Kuru made the statement on Monday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions led by Senator Uba Sani.
Kuru declared that it would be wrong for the government to set up a new airline from the scratch when an airline like Arik Air, which had been repositioned and reinvigorated by AMCON since taking over in February 2017, was available.
He said that the airline had all the facilities to make a new national carrier, stressing that the country was going through tight budget implementation.
But to do that, Kuru said the National Assembly must reform the aviation sector by reducing the different layers of charges by different agencies, which makes it extremely difficult for airlines to survive in the country.
He said, “Arik has enough aircraft and facilities that can be used to set up a new airline.
“Even if the government wants to set up a national carrier to service just the domestic market, which currently has a lot of gap, it is possible with what Arik currently has.”