Govt gives airlines three years to pay debts

WORRIED by the huge indebtedness of airlines to aviation agencies, the Federal Government has given all the airlines another 36-months within which to clear the backlog of their historic indebtednessto the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).This is the second time the government would be issuing ultimatum to the airlines. Former Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze had last year issued ultimatum to the carriers to pay up their debts totalling more than N10 billion. She, however, gave them 30 months to pay up their historical debts to the NAMA, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).The agencies believe the N10 billion debt the airlines owe them is incapacitating their operations. In turn, they too owe contractors, suppliers and other clients of theirs.The Managing Director of NAMA Mr. Nnamdi Udoh while addressing all the airspace managers across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the agency's headquarters in Lagos recently said that the high profile of the airlines indebtedness to the agency had been a source of grave concern to the government which informed the implementation of an earlier agreement with the airlines.Payment of this debt, he noted, would assist in the new safety drive of the management.Udoh, while charging the airspace managers to be dedicated to their duties in providing quality service further disclosed that Very High Frequency Radio projects for Kano Airport had been installed and was awaiting connectivity with other facilities.
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