Aviation ground handling firms seek waiver on equipment import

Ground handling companies operating in the Nigerian aviation industry have called on the federal government to grant them duty waivers and concessionary loans. They said this would enhance the capacity of the operators to carry out their services effectively. The operators also warned that the low margin profit for operators in the sector, made business […]

Ground handling companies operating in the Nigerian aviation industry have called on the federal government to grant them duty waivers and concessionary loans.

They said this would enhance the capacity of the operators to carry out their services effectively.

The operators also warned that the low margin profit for operators in the sector, made business toxic, saying that they needed the collaboration and support of the government to remain in business.

Chairman, Aviation Ground Handlers Association of Nigeria (AGHAN), Mr. Olaniyi Adigun in a chat with newsmen stated that for almost a decade, the federal government had granted indigenous airlines customs waivers, while handling companies with huge investments are treated differently by the government.

Adigun reiterated the call for customs waiver, stating that the huge money paid by the operators to clear imported operational equipment at the ports was killing their business.

He also appealed to the federal government to facilitate concessionary loans for operators in the sector through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said: “Aviation is a catalyst to economic development and if you want to develop economically, all the sectors that contribute to economic development must be taken care of. The government should make this conducive for us in the name of ease-of-doing-business.

“We are also demanding duty waivers from the federal government. This is very important to sustain our operations. They have done so for airlines; they should also do the same for us too. We also import equipment into the country – Ground Support Equipment (GSE), push back and others. These things cost us hugely. If we can have a duty waiver, it will reduce our stress.”

Also, Chairman, Swissport, Otunba John Adebanjo, stated that the indigenous airlines needed to pay for the services rendered by the handlers.

Adebanjo, who is also the Chairman of American Express, stated that Nigerian airlines operating regional or international flights pay more for handling rates in other climes, wondering why the same could not be replicated in Nigeria by the same airlines.