‘Nigeria is Huge Aviation Market for Africa’s Air Transport’

Chinedu Eze

The Regional Manager North, West and Central Africa of South Africa Airways (SAA), Mr. Ohis Ehimiaghe has said that Nigeria is a huge market for air transport in Africa. He also said that the airline was not planning to stop its operations in the country; rather, it is consolidating its market share in Nigeria.

Ehimiaghe said because of the importance SAA attached to the Nigerian destination, the airline has introduced the latest Airbus A330-300 to the route in a bid to boost its operations on the Lagos-Johannes route from December 11, 2016 to Nigerians new travel experience as well as meet the growing need of the Nigerian passengers.

He said: “We want to pride ourselves as one of the best airlines operating in Nigeria and that is why we are doing all that we can to satisfy our customers. We have been flying into Lagos for the past 20 years and of recent, we have extended to Abuja.”

Commenting on the challenges airline operators are facing in the country, Ehimiaghe stressed that despite the difficulties, that South Africa Airways is not stopping its operations of flying into the country.

The Regional Manager pointed out that instead of leaving the country, the airline decided to fortify its operations by bringing its newest fleets to the Nigerian market.

“We are not pulling out. We know that Nigerian passengers deserve the best and that is why we are deploying this new aircraft to our Nigerian route” he said.

According to him, there are four major challenges bedeviling the airline industry in the country including forex, scarcity of aviation fuel, infrastructural decay, and the current economic crisis rocking the nation, but despite all these challenges, Nigeria remains a huge market for air travel and the airline has decided to consolidate its presence in Nigeria.

Related Articles