Airports lose 70 Percent cargoes to seaports

Abiola Seun |

The President, Association of Foreign Airlines Representatives of Nigeria (AFRN), Mr Kingsley Nwokoma, has opened up saying airlines have lost over 70% cargos to sea operators in the last couple of years when ease of doing aviation business dropped.

In an interview with journalists in Lagos, Nwokoma revealed that his members had in the last couple of years observed serious drop-in cargo operation in the country, noting that most importers had decided to ferry their cargoes through the sea which he noted was cheaper and less stressful than through airfreight.

AFRN boss further disclosed that cargo import through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos has dropped by 70 per cent stressing that “If you look at the cargo airlines that were coming into Nigeria, the number has gone down primarily because of the economy. We know that airfreight is quite expensive.”

According to him, “What most big firms and companies do these days is that they plan ahead long-term and send most of their cargo through sea freighting.

“We don’t have to just sit down and allow most customers go to the sea. We also have to strategize and see how we can get these customers back.

He decried that all the Federal Government’s pledges on growing ease of doing business had been on papers as there is nothing on ground to prove ease of doing business in the nation’s aviation sector.

Recall that few weeks ago, the leadership of the Aviation Operators of Nigeria (AON) decried series of changes it had called for in the industry but things continue to get worst in the sector.