AIRCRAFT DEPLETION IS IMMINENT AS AIRLINES SUSPEND OVERSEAS AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE.

Following the suspension of all aircraft checks abroad due to a lack of foreign currency, domestic carriers may experience forced aircraft depletion.

As a result of the most recent situation, all of the aircraft that were transported outside will remain in various aircraft maintenance facilities until the airlines can find the money to pay for their repairs and subsequent return to operation in Nigeria. The result will be the forced depletion of operating aircraft, unless more aircraft are imported, as any aircraft that is due for a major check like a C-check, which is performed abroad, will be parked, and any aircraft that develops a fault beyond A and B checks, which can only be done in Nigeria, will also be parked.

Airlines are thus losing seats, which has resulted in increased demand, expensive airfares, flight delays, and flight cancellations because few aircraft are designed to handle numerous itineraries throughout the day.

High aviation fuel prices, which have increased to N903 per litre, are making the issue worse because, according to industry observers, they could reach N1000 per litre at any time without immediate action.

Captain Ado Sanusi, the former CEO of Aero Contractors, said on Wednesday that the aviation industry is in a critical state and needs immediate action to stop it before things worsen.

Making foreign exchange available to airlines and taking immediate action to stop the rise in the price of aviation fuel were two of the concerns he cited as having solutions.

Aviation fleet depletion will result in a lack of seats, which means that high demand will increase the cost of travel. Due to the current dollar shortage, airlines will not use foreign exchange to pay for the upkeep of their international flights. This has led to a decrease in capacity; thus, action must be taken to halt the decline, he said.

Fears that without the return of aircraft that had previously been flown overseas for maintenance, the ones that are currently in operation may all be grounded when their check times are due or if they develop faults, leaving no fleet to fall back on, have been stoked by the reality that aircraft on major maintenance could be grounded for as long as possible.

Arik Air, Ibom Air, and Air Peace are anticipating the return of several of their aircraft that were sent abroad for maintenance. Some of them are expected to return if the airlines make the required payments, but they are hampered by the lack of Forex.

Captain Roland Iyayi, President/CEO of Topbrass Aviation Limited and a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), said that while airlines could carry out A and B inspections in Nigeria, major inspections would require them to transport their aircraft overseas. However, he cautioned that if the current Forex shortage persisted, it would be challenging to find spare parts to carry out minor inspections in Nigeria.

He also stated that several airlines have already exhausted their fleets and that more aircraft must be imported into the nation in order to stop the decline in the number of available seats.

Not all inspections demand that you fly the airplane abroad. Here in Nigeria, there are several checks that can be made. You will only bring up flying the aircraft overseas or grounding them if you are unable to take them out when there are significant checks required. But so far, everything is still going well. However, if the FX shortage persists, airlines may find it difficult to obtain the spare parts they need to keep their aircraft in good working order, even in Nigeria, which could eventually force them to ground their aircraft, according to Iyayi.

Investigations have also shown that passengers are having a very tough time dealing with airline flight cancellations and delays, which are not only brought on by a lack of fuel or a high cost of the product but also by technical problems.

After several hours of waiting, a passenger trip was canceled. Additionally, some airlines skip passenger bags on some flights in order to carry extra fuel, especially when traveling to airports where they are unsure of whether they will get Jet A1.

Nnamdi Udo, a former managing director of NAMA, asserted that high airfares, flight cancellations, and delays would have a negative impact on the aviation industry overall as well as cause inconvenience to passengers and loss of revenue for aviation agencies in the form of fees, taxes, and other offerings.

While consumers bemoan the high cost of flying, airlines gripe about low passenger traffic and insist that the only way they can survive is by passing on the high cost of aviation fuel to their prices, which is also deterring many potential travelers from visiting airports.

Mr. Bankole Bernard, the group managing director of Finchglow Holdings, has issued a warning that as long as the naira is depreciating and there is a lack of foreign exchange, airfares may continue to rise.

The fact is that the price of tickets will still fly higher than what we are seeing at the moment because a number of elements function as determining factors, according to Bankole, who talked to aviation journalists. Dollars are used in everything that has to do with aviation travel. How then can we guarantee our people's business success if it is dollar-denominated？ That is what we ought to be considering. I was recently informed that a flight to Maiduguri now costs roughly N400,000, and I responded that this made a lot of sense. Either you choose to travel by air or by road, where you run the risk of being abducted. The fact that airlines are charging that much money is not their fault, but It is the situation as it is.