Nigeria losses billions to foreign airlines’ dominance, says AON boss

President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison, has called on indigenous airlines operating in the country to improve on their technologies and services so that they can dominate the aviation sector.

Meggisson added that due to the low patronage of local airlines, that the country was losing billions of naira yearly in form of capital outflow through foreign airlines in Africa, which is estimated to have hit $10 billion.

The AOB boss disclosed this to newsmen recently at a workshop organized by Aviation Round Table (ART) at Golfview Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, adding that in aviation parlance, capital outflow are revenues repatriated by foreign airlines that operate in a country which are not restricted by law, unlike capital flight which is normally restricted by law.

He further added though such remittances were lawful, but they have negative effects on the revenue of a country like Nigeria which was experiencing economic crisis.

According to him, for any country’s economy to thrive; its aviation sector should be viable and contribute to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that aviation was the major barometer to measure the economic state of any country.

Meggasson further stressed that, for instance, British Airways and Emirates Airlines repatriate from Nigeria about $1.7 billion annually.