International airlines in Nigeria spend about N25bn annually on aircraft towing due to the Federal Airport Authority’s inability to import the procured aero bridges.
In developed countries, aero bridges connect directly to aircraft doors, enabling swift and seamless boarding. In contrast, airlines in Nigeria incur high fees to ground handling companies for towing aircraft to aero bridges before passengers can disembark.
Apart from the financial burden, this process also leads to delays, forcing passengers to wait about 20 minutes after landing before exiting the aircraft.
An aerobridge, or jetway/air bridge, is a telescoping passage that links an airport terminal to an aircraft, facilitating secure boarding and disembarkation.
It was reported that 28 aero bridges were purchased in 2014 but have not yet been imported into Nigeria from China.
Sources also revealed that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria logs an average of 21 take-offs and 12 landings daily at the Murtala Muhammed Airport’s 18R/36L runway, amounting to about 630 take-offs and 360 landings each month.
FAAN data shows that approximately 990 aircraft land and take off monthly from Lagos airport’s international terminal, totaling 11,880 aircraft movements annually at the aerodrome.
Industry operators stated that ground handlers at the airport charge $1,350 for towing a large aircraft and $673 for a smaller one.
By multiplying $1,350 by the 11,880 aircraft movements each year, the total amount spent by international airlines on towing comes to $16,038,000.
With an exchange rate of N1,534 to the dollar, our correspondent’s calculations show that international airlines pay more than N24,602,292,000 each year to ground handlers for towing their aircraft to the aerobridge.
Roland Iyayi, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and CEO of TopBrass Aviation, described the situation as a possible scheme by ground handling companies to boost their profits. He explained that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s failure to provide automated machines has led airlines to incur significant costs.
He stated, To me, this looks like a form of collusion aimed at benefiting ground handling companies, similar to how generator companies profit when NEPA fails to provide power.
