Editor's Pick- The World's worst Airport (Omagwa International Airport)

Nigeria has been in the news again and is receiving a boost to it’s PR efforts ( Positive or negative) for having the World’s worst airport.

 Port Harcourt International Airport ,Omagwa  was reported this week to have overtaken King Abdulazziz Airport in Saudi Arabia for the No 1 position. I buried my head in shame at this report not just because a location such as this which attracts a large number of visitors daily was left to wallow, but the real pain is in the seeming insouciance with which public and National assets are treated. 

I was a weekly traveler to Rivers State for 4 years till the year 2013, regularly passing through this entry with great discomfort . So you can imagine how  appalled  I was to find out construction work 2 years later is still at crawling pace. I often wondered why an international airport  in an important Oil city like this, was left looking  like a shanty  with almost no roof, horrible chairs for seating, a very disorganized lobby, untrained staff who are always begging for money and ready to take advantage of you given the opportunity. 

I often prayed not to be delayed till night (Of course I was). Air France planes and other cargo planes  can often be spotted on the tarmac and I thought to myself, with big carriers like these frequenting the Airport and  enjoying a direct route to France, surely the authorities must be making money and airlines should  be making a case for an upgrade to make passage seamless for their passengers. 

The former Minister of Aviation Stella Odua started the project of remodeling the airports, spending N174 billion on airport remodeling according to the Senate committee on Aviation in the 7^th Seventh Assembly, a job which stakeholders feel does not compare with the amount pumped into the projects when compared with similar projects across the Globe. Due to the poor infrastructure of many Nigerian Cities, Airports play an important role in economic development owing to underdeveloped roads and rail networks in much of Nigeria.

The fact that this is the first selling point of a country to any visitor speaks volumes. When you visit Singapore, from Changi International airport to the main city, your experience is said to leave you speechless and often your expectations are exceeded. The airport is equipped with first class facilities, very comfortable and relaxing even if you had to spend a whole day there. The efficiency with which you can move from the airplane to the city or the luxurious layover indulgences which includes a fish spa, a sauna, a butterfly garden, showers, a koi pond,  multi storey slides and other attractions that will make you lose yourself at the airport. The world’s best airport list is largely dominated by Asian countries who understand the importance of connectivity, trade and tourism to their countries.

In Nigerian airports, the attractions are different every day from cows grazing across the area of the tarmac which ought to have perimeter fencing,to a horrific ride when there is a sudden black out and the tarmac has to be lit with emergency torches, demonic queues to check in your baggage and  very boring airport lounges  with cranky and age old escalators even at the Muritala Mohammed airport which ought to be a connectivity hub for West Africa and the greater part of Africa.

The Nigerian Aviation market remains one of the world’s most profitable with a load factor the shape of an inverted pyramid. British Airways may fly to New York from London 10 times daily but the revenue it makes from one daily flight from Lagos to London generates more revenue to the airlines than three of such flights to New York.

This explains why the Lagos and Abuja routes are the most lucrative destinations to the premium carriers that operate into the country, including BA, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Lufthansa, Delta Air Lines and KLM.

The load factor is usually high from top to bottom, which means that the first and business classes in these airlines fill up first before the economy. The enormous revenue these cabins generate can be gleaned from the fact that fares from the few seats in the first class cabin of BA are more than the total revenue generated from the hundreds of seats in the economy class.

 This is same with the other airlines. Recall the  Arik issue which occurred in London a few years back, over landing slots. Arik was leasing slots to land in Heathrow Airport, a queer practice even when for the Lagos –London route there had 21 slots which BA properly utilized, but Arik was held hostage with 14slots and had to lease landing slots. 

The private company who owned the slot was being sold and had to wind down the arrangement with Arik. The Jonathan government stepped in immediately threatening to ban BA from Nigeria’s Lucrative route, a move that sent shivers down the spine of 10 Downing Street. The British government immediately sat up and came to the table for negotiations. This shows that this market is a very important one for the international airlines who are fond of rigging landing slots/frequencies in their favor and  are ready to play any games to retain the status quo in this market.

Remember also Richard Branson’s Virgin and it’s unholy alliance with Nigeria Airway (Virgin Nigeria). The Billionaire practically scammed the whole process by ensuring that Virgin Nigeria was in no position to compete with his Virgin Atlantic on the same route. Armed with the management contract, he appointed the (Chief Financial officer) CFO, while the Nigerian Airway appointed a Nigerian MD. He used this structure as a conduit pipe to siphon money claiming all sort of dubious fees, eventually falling out with the bankers of the airline, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTB) and UBA Plc, while leaving the Airline in a limbo after Singapore Airways advised him to pull out. 

Nigerians remain the most frequent travellers in the world imposed with the highest travel rates ever, yet continue flying to UK, US China, Dubai and many other destinations for holidays, Honeymoon, Medical treatment , Business and Trading.

The Aviation industry is one which needs to be taken more seriously across the value chain. The government needs to hands off the airports and privatize them in an open bid to the most competent parties. The authorities need to ensure they scrutinize every area of airline operations from AOC licensing to regularly ensure Functional equipment, safety of lives to reduce significantly the incidence of planes falling off the sky in the Nigerian Airspace.

With these done, the doors to tourism will reopen for many Nigerian Cities and  remove the silly excuses given by foreign missions in conjunction with their airlines and companies ,while drafting their travel advisory and attempting to maximize revenue . A case where expatriates are advised to fly only international airlines even when traveling from Lagos to Abuja, imagine having to  buy a BA ticket to commute to Abuja from Lagos via London. Who is fooling who?