For the umpteenth time, airline operators have disagreed with the plan to open up the Nigerian air travel market to continental airlines, under the evolving Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) initiative.

The local carriers said while the Nigerian virile travel market is “the target” of other African airlines, their home governments were still largely protectionist, and “hostile” to Nigerian airlines that are interested in regional connectivity.

Recall that Nigeria and 19 African countries have agreed to begin implementation of SAATM, starting with a test run.

By the new agreement, the 20 countries, out of 35 SAATM signatories, will fully open their air transport markets to one another, and without conditions. It is also expected that member-States’ eligible airlines would take advantage of SAATM, and expand their operations across Africa.

Meeting at the SAATM Pilot Implementation Project (PIP) cluster one roadshow just-concluded in Abuja, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) again voiced their displeasure that the lingering hurdle of protectionism and feisty aeropolitics on the African continent were yet to be addressed.

Vice President of the AON, Allen Onyema, said although the idea is noble, the implementation is lopsided and not in favour of Nigerian airlines.

According to Onyema: “Though they said SAATM will favour Nigerian airlines, we the Airline Operators of Nigeria do not see it that way. Most African airlines have unfettered access into Nigeria, but Nigerian airlines are not granted landing rights into these countries. Why?”

Onyema, who is also the Chairman of Air Peace Airline, explained that Air Peace applied for landing right into Cote d’Ivoire, which was denied until he threatened to go to court.

“When we moved in to set up operations, we were asked to pay $10,000 for landing. So, we could not go to that country. People paint SAATM as if it is the only good thing that can ever happen to Nigeria, but AON will disagree until other African countries do the right thing by allowing easy reciprocity.

“Nigerian airlines are frustrated and SAATM is targeted at Nigeria, given our huge population that is so mobile. We (airlines) are not against SAATM, but what we are saying is that it should be implemented in a fair way that is acceptable to all,” Onyema said.

Apparently unswayed by the operators’ pushback, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, pledged that the federal government would continue to support any policies and programmes that would support and project the full implementation of SAATM in Nigeria.

Sirika added that Nigeria was working towards launching its national carrier that would help in actualising the policies and principles of SAATM in Nigeria, and Africa at large.

Director-General of Civil Aviation Authority NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, also expressed optimism that SAATM would enhance intra-African connections and make the movement of passengers and cargo smooth with minimum transit points at competitive prices.

Musa, however, solicited collective resolve not only to implement SAATM, but also to make conscious efforts to address the issues of non-physical barriers including the high cost of travel within the region.

The 20 States under SAATM PIP are Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Gabon, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo and Zambia.

A recent continental study on the benefits of SAATM identified key benefits of implementation, including $4.2 billion addition to gross domestic product (GDP), 596,000 new jobs, 27 per cent reduction in fares and contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs).

The study also assessed the level of Yamoussoukro Declaration’s implementation, and the efficacy of SAATM operationalisation for each member-state and arrived at a “preparedness” rating using the SAATM-enablers – a stand-alone air transport policy that contributes to the holistic aviation framework.

The launch of SAATM as the first flagship project of the AU Agenda 2063 on 28 January 2018 is considered a turning point towards the full liberalisation of the air transport market on the continent.