Nwafor Urges Airline Operators To Review High Ticket Fares To Anambra Airport
Mr Martin Nwafor, the Managing Director of Chinua Achebe Airport, Umueri in Anambra has called on airline operators using the airport to reconsider the ticket pricing on the route.
Nwafor who made the call in an interview with journalists in Umueri, Anambra East Local Government Area said the differential pricing which favoured neighbouring airports was a major factor responsible for low traffic in the route.
He said the airport now operated eight flights everyday with two service providers adding that it could be more when it received private jets which were non-scheduled.
Nwafor also encouraged air transport passengers from Anambra and neighbouring states to use the airport to enjoy the cutting edge facility and support its revenue base for greater transformation.
According to him, we need an increase in the number of flights but the disparity in ticket pricing which favours airports around here, which is essentially why they get more flights than us.
“I am not an airline operator, but I know there is a pricing method which is informed by the interplay of demand and supply.
“So, I am calling on the two airline operators using this airport, who incidentally are from Anambra, to look at the disparity in ticket pricing.
“For instance, while a ticket to a nearby airport is N115, 000, it is as much as N200,000 here, it is discouraging people from coming to our airport.
“But we have been talking recently and it is closing up and more passengers are coming here.
“The airport revenue from passengers is from only those taking off from here, those who land here do not pay passenger service charge at the point of origin,” he said.
Nwafor said the Chinua Achebe Airport was aeronautically complete and optimally functional even though there were other necessary ancillary facilities such as hangers, shops, malls which private investors could come and invest in.
He said the airport was over 90 percent complete when it was inaugurated for commercial flight operations adding that the management had overcome some of the restrictions due to continued improvement.
“The airport itself does not exist on its own, there are infrastructure that are purely aeronautical, they are what make the airport to function, making it a safe airplane to land and take off safely and securely.
“There is no compromise in the aeronautical aspect of the airport; here, if an airport is not ready, an aeroplane will not land there.
“We started with small airplanes of about 50 passengers because we were flying Visual Flight Rules (VFR) which does not permit the use of big airplanes,
“Our Instrument Landing System, that is the Doppler Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Radio Range Equipment, was installed even though not totally calibrated.
“But we have progressed, we have overcome some of the restrictions due to continued improvement and we now fly at night especially in December when we have passenger surge.
“We have more than enough airport taxis and one of the best airport taxi systems, they are well profiled by the security agencies and identified with their vehicles to ensure safety of passengers,” he said.
