Nigerian carriers form Spring Alliance
Six Nigerian airlines have come together in what they term the “Spring Alliance” aimed at commercial cooperation and operational support to improve service delivery and reduce flight delays.
The members include Air Peace, Azman Air, Arik Air, Aero Contractors, United Nigeria, and MaxAir (Nigeria) (VM, Katsina), all of which signed a commercial cooperation agreement in Lagos on March 8, 2022, according to local news reports.
Speaking at a joint media conference, Aero Contractors Managing Director Abdullahi Mahmood labelled it “a historic move” to improve passenger service in Nigeria. “Flight delays are caused by problems that passengers do not know [about]. It is a challenging situation that we find ourselves in, but we are all in this together,” he said.
More than half of the 74,000 domestic flights in Nigeria in 2021 were delayed, according to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Of 41,328 flights delayed, 24% were operated by Air Peace, 13% by Dana Air (9J, Lagos) and Arik Air respectively, and 6% by Ibom Air (QI, Uyo), the NCAA said. Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, in July 2021, directed airlines to reimburse passengers after a two-hour delay.
Under fresh criticism for delays, Nigerian airline executives last month published a letter listing 16 reasons why flights were so often delayed, reported Quartz Africa. They blamed adverse weather, aviation fuel scarcity, inadequate aircraft parking bays, unruly passengers, and having to close airspace when VIPs like the Nigerian president departed or arrived at any of the country’s airports, reported Quartz Africa.
Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema explained the commercial alliance would benefit passengers by allowing the airlines to assist each other operationally. “By this alliance, our passengers are protected whenever there is a problem with one airline. It is our response to the complaints of the flying public. So, this alliance will enable us to satisfy them.”
“For example, if Air Peace has a technical issue on any of its aircraft, the passengers of Air Peace need not be delayed. If any member of this alliance is going to the same destination, all we need to do is move the passengers over to that other airline, a member of the alliance, at no further cost to the passenger,” he explained.