Over 100 airlines died in 40 years – Minister

Over 100 airlines have failed in the last 40 years due to the high mortality rate in the aviation sector, according to Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

Keyamo made this revelation on Saturday during the 10th anniversary celebration of Air Peace, the Nigerian flag carrier and largest airline in West Africa, in Lagos.

However, the minister pledged that the present government would put an end to the airlines' ongoing demise.

"I am thrilled to be here today for two reasons," he stated. The first is that Air Peace has endured and continued to prosper for a decade. If you look at the history of Nigerian airlines, you will see that they have a hard time staying afloat for ten years. We have a past of great mortality of airlines.
I'm sure you all remember that over a hundred airlines have ceased operations in the past forty years. Among them are Bellview, Zenith, and Concord. I have their list with me, so I can keep bringing them up, and you'll wonder why they go.

"With Air Peace looking strong and continuing to be on the rise rather than the decline, we said when we came to office that there must be something causing this high mortality rate."

The "situation is worrisome," Keyamo said. Allow me to explain why this is a cause for concern. According to a recent Boeing research, 80% of all domestic travel in Africa occurs in Nigeria. Not West Africa, not Central Africa, but the whole of Africa.
"In Africa, the Lagos-Abuja route is the busiest route in the entire continent." Cape Town and Johannesburg, I believe, come next. However, when it comes to domestic travel, Nigeria is the top destination.

"We have the people, the traffic, and the population. Therefore, it is unexpected that the airlines are not surviving if we have this traffic. Think about it. What is preventing them from surviving? I've sat down with operators to tackle this issue since we took office, and I've listened to them.

Keyamo claimed that the fact that Air Peace, a 10-year-old Nigerian airline, has avoided the high mortality phenomena that affects airlines in their initial five to ten years of operation is comforting, "showing that it will be a great carrier of the future.”
Allen Onyema, the chairman of Air Peace, stated that the airline was founded with careful consideration and the intention of having a beneficial influence on the nation by giving young Nigerians work, rather than focussing just on making money.

"Air Peace is the result of careful consideration and a desire to have a significant impact in a nation that I adore." Profit is a key factor in the operations of most enterprises, but Air Peace was not founded primarily for financial gain, he said.