After a 35-year wait, the Federal Government has approved new safety threshold ground handling charges, effective October 1, 2021 for international carriers, and January 1, 2022, for domestic operators. According to the review, made known by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), foreign airlines shall pay ground handlers between $1,500 and $5,000 for passenger and cargo airlines.
Their domestic counterparts shall pay between N25,000 and N70,000 depending on the aircraft type. The much-awaited review may be an end to perennial underpricing and destructive competition in the ground handling sub-sector of aviation, which has cost revenue shortfall of $28.35 million or N11.6 billion (N410/$) yearly.
The Guardian earlier reported that handling companies charge between $300 to $1000 to service a narrow-body aircraft rather than $1,400 to $1600 charged in other African countries.
Similarly, they also charge about $3,000 as against the $5,000 average charged in neighboring countries for wide-body aircraft. For domestic operations, some airlines pay as low as N12, 000 to N20, 000 for aircraft turnaround. But with the latest approval, ground-handling companies can now measure up to their counterparts on the continent.FF
