New Telegraph

How airlines, aviation firms shared FG’s N5bn bailout

Air Peace, Azman, Dana top beneficiaries
Travel agencies get N196m, car hire operators receive N100m

A list of other beneficiaries of the much awaited palliative in the aviation industry has been released. Aside the airlines, aviation ground handling companies, aviation fuel marketers, registered airport taxi operators and travel agents benefited from the Federal Government’s ‘kindness’ to get them out of the woods following the devastating effects of COVID-19 that have negatively affected the aviation and travel industry.

New Telegraph had exclusively reported on Monday that both scheduled and non-scheduled received N3 billion and N1 billion respectively from government amid secrecy that the whole exercise was shrouded in.

It is not yet clear how much all the carriers got, an airline operator who is privy to the bailout fund said a non-scheduled operator based in Kaduna (name withheld) received N31 million, while another (name withheld), which once operated to Dubai and London and, which is currently reorganising its operation, received N50 million. A source stated that Azman and Air Peace got the largest amount totalling nearly N500 million each.

Dana Air, which recently welcomed back two aircraft from maintenance, got N225 million. The criteria used for disbursement was hinged on the fact that they collectively form the bulk of domestic operations and their expansion plans.

Aside airlines that were helped with public funds, ground handling companies, National Association of Travel Agencies, aviation fuel marketers as well as airport car hire services partook from this largesse, although there was no specificity of who got what.

The N4,995,999,999.90 arrived at is after five per cent deductions from all airlines indebted to service providers and regulatory agencies to the tune of N203,999,990.95 making a total of N4,796, 000,009.04.

The deductions stand at 50 per cent for FAAN at N75,000,000.03; NAMA 25 per cent at N37,500,000.01 and the NCAA also at 25 per cent for N37,500,000.01 making a total deduction for scheduled operators at N150,000,000.05, bringing the net pay accruable to the scheduled operators at N2,849,999,999.95. Non-scheduled operators got a total amount of N1 billion with a total deduction of N950,000,009.10 to aviation agencies including FAAN, NAMA and NCAA getting N24,999,995.45 at 50 per cent for FAAN; N12,499, 997.73 at 25 per cent each for both NAMA and the NCAA bringing total deductions for non-scheduled to N49,999,990.90.

Ground handling companies, aviation fuel marketers and catering services got N233,333,333.33 each. The National Association of Travel Agencies (NANTA) received a total of N196 million with N4 million deductions. Airport Car Hire Association of Nigeria (ACHAN) received from the ministry, N100 million bringing the total amount to N4,995,999,999.90.

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