The Taraba State Government has found
itself in a big mess over the purchase of two Embraer ERJ 145 airplanes
for the proposed airline called Air Taraba.
The two planes, currently parked at Abuja
and Kaduna airports, have not been put to either private or commercial
use since they were brought from the United States of America into
Nigeria in February 2012 and September 2014, respectively, according to
findings by our correspondent.
How much the state government paid to
acquire the two aircraft could not be confirmed as of press time, but
planes.axlegeeks.com and aircraftcompare.com put the price for each of
the plane at $21m (N4.137bn). The two planes, therefore, would have cost
the state government not less than $42m (N8.3bn).
Some aviation officials close to the
acquisition of the planes, however, said each aircraft was acquired for
between $8m and $10m, because they were not brand new.
The state government had wanted to start
an airline named Air Taraba, with the two aircraft, but internal
political wrangling among the top echelon of the government, it was
learnt, made it to abandon the planes in Abuja and Kaduna airports.
Findings from the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria revealed that the first Embraer ERJ 145 with
registration 5N-BOZ arrived the country in February 2012, while the
second one, with an American registration number N292SK, arrived in
September 2014.
“The Taraba State Government wanted to
start an airline called Air Taraba with the two planes and then buy more
later, but the plan hit the rock following some internal political
wrangling among successive governors and their camps after the air crash
that involved the former governor, Danbaba Suntai,” a top official of
the state government told our correspondent on condition of anonymity.
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The
source added, “The state could not start the airline due to
disagreements that ensued among top officials after the air crash that
involved Danbaba Suntai. You know there were series of infighting in the
Government House after that crash.
“This made the airline project to be
abandoned; and as such, the two newly acquired planes were abandoned. It
was the disagreement that made the second plane to arrive very late
because both were ordered at the same time.”
Going by the dates the two aircraft
arrived Nigeria, the first one has spent three years and eight months on
the ground without being put into any use, while the second has been
idle for one year.
Aviation experts and chief executive
officers of airlines estimated that the two 50-seater planes have lost
combined revenue of at least N3.3bn for the combined period of four and
half years that they had spent on the ground without flying.
Giving the breakdown of the estimated
N3.3bn loss, the CEO said if each of the planes was assumed to have
carried only 30 passengers in six flights per day for 20 days in a
month, it would be generating N72m every month.
Also assuming that the aircraft worked
for only 10 months in a year in order to allow time for regular
maintenance checks, the first plane, which has spent 44 months on the
ground would have generated N2.59bn in ticket revenue if it worked for
36 months at N72m per month.
The second aircraft is also expected to have flown for at least 10 months and generate N720m at the same rate of N72m per month.
These give a combined ticket revenue loss of N3.3bn.
To bring the planes back to service,
aviation experts, aircraft engineers and CEOs of airlines estimated that
about 50 per cent of the cost of purchase might be required.
They put this at a conservative sum of
about $11m (N2.1bn) for the two planes. If this is added to the N3.3bn
loss in ticket revenue had it been that the planes were flying, the
state may have lost about N5.4bn aside the amount it used to acquire the
aircraft.
The experts argued that having stayed on
the ground for too long without flying, the planes would need total
overhauling because the two engines of at least one of the planes would
have to be replaced, aside other major components that might have
expired.
An aviation analyst and Head, Research,
Zenith Travels, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo, queried the motive behind the
acquisition of the planes, saying the Taraba State Government was not
sincere about using them for commercial operations from the outset.
Ohunayo said, “I fault the motive behind
the acquisition of the planes. Taraba State does not have an airport
that can accommodate those planes; it only has an airstrip. So why are
they buying aircraft and wanting to run an airline service from Jalingo
when the airport cannot accommodate the aircraft?
“The aircraft are being kept in Abuja and
Kaduna airports. The business of airline from Jalingo is not viable.
They should have fixed the airport first by turning the airstrip into an
airport before going to buy the aircraft at all.”
The Chief Executive Officer, Centurion
Safety and Aviation Security Consult, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd),
queried why the aircraft had been on the ground for too long.
Ojikutu said, “The two planes are already
due for a major maintenance check. This will cost a lot of money. Aside
this, some of the components of the aircraft would have expired; they
will need replacements. There are some components that expire with the
calendar, while others expire based on the number of hours the plane has
flown.
“Corrosion would have set in. I believe
the planes are not being preserved based on any manual from the
manufacturer. The two engines of each of the planes will have to be
replaced. There are engine Airworthiness Directive on Embraer 145 that
also needs to be done on them. All these will cost a lot.”
However, the Taraba State Commissioner of
Information, Mr. Emmnuel Bello, said he would get back to our
correspondent. He had not done so as of the time of filing the report.
But the Chief of Staff to the Governor,
Mr. Rebo Usman, said plans were already at an advanced stage to lease
the airplanes to an airline.
He said details of the plans would soon be unveiled.
“We have gone very far on the plan; we
are working on all the nitty-gritty. We will very soon be giving the
aircraft to an airline that has already accepted to be using them to fly
the Jalingo route. We don’t have any plan to run a state airline,”
Usman added.
Asked if the two planes would be given
out on lease to the airline, Usman said, “I can’t give you the details
now but that is what we are working on. We have an understanding with an
airline already; I can’t give you the details now because we are still
working them out.”
When probed further if the new
administration in the state was concerned about the money it was losing
on the two planes being on ground for long, the chief of staff said, “If
the new administration is not concerned, we would not have entered into
an arrangement with an airline to take them up.
“Let me tell you that the issue of having
our state opened up to investors is even more important to us than the
revenue issue you are even talking about.
On why the airplanes were allowed to stay
idle for too long, Usman said, “This administration is just about 100
days old. You should have asked the previous administration.”
The chief of staff declined to answer
further questions, insisting that the previous administration should
have been asked the questions.
- PUNCH
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