AON Denies Cutting Corners
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| The Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON),the umbrella body of all domestic airlines operating in Nigeria has denied the statement credited to the chairman Senate Committee on Aviation Smart Adeyemi that airline operators in Nigeria are cutting corners to be able to meet their operational expenses. AON said in a press release signed by its President Dr.Abdumunaf Yinusa that there was no iota of truth in the statement.”Nigeria airlines do not cut corners and will never cut corners.We want to believe that the DISTINGUISHED Senator was misunderstood and quoted out of context because there is never any available fact supporting such a conclusion.” . “In most of the media reports, the senator was quoted as pleading with government to stop the Customs department from re-introducing the payment of duties and VAT on the importation of commercial aircraft, commercial aircraft spares and engines noting that the reintroduction was a flagrant disobedience of the Executive Order by President Buhari granting zero duty and zero VAT on the importation of commercial aircraft, aircraft spares and aircraft engines noting that such decision by the Customs could make the airlines to start cutting corners because of their inability to clear their spares from the customs.” According to the AON President,It was equally reported in most media that the senator in asking that Nigerian airlines be supported with adequate bailout funding, warned that if this was not done, that some airlines may resort to cutting corners. “We wish to state categorically that no Nigerian airline would cut corners under any circumstance. Nigerian airlines will never compromise safety under any circumstance. If the burden of running our business becomes unbearable as a result of the Custom duties and VAT, we would rather shut down and suspend our operations rather than cut corners.” Again, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) is alive to its duties and would never allow such to happen. Nigerian airlines, as a result of the stringent safety regime being run by the NCAA, are the safest in the world! |
