Th e Ni g e r i a aviation sector may be losing over ₦100 billion annually to shoddy implementation of open sky agreement with foreign countries, stakeholders at a business forum have said.

The stakeholders said that rather than invest in and develop Nigerian carriers to compete to an extent with foreign carriers, government, through the Ministry of Aviation, continued to grant flight entries indiscriminately to foreign airlines to the detriment of local carriers.

The forum also heard that over 300 foreign pilots are currently in the sector, lamenting that their Nigerian counterparts are roaming the streets unemployed.

The stakeholders, who bemoaned that Nigeria was yet to realized the importance of the aviation sector to its economy, called for stringent policy on expatriate system that will checkmate the influx of foreigners into the sector indiscriminately.

Adeyemi Dare, a pilot, who spoke on ‘Liberalism or Protectionism of the aviation sector’, lamented that over 47 airlines had been licensed to operate after the liquidation of Nigeria airways, 31 of them are comatose while only about six are operational currently.

According to him, apart from issues arising from government’s action, undue interference by airline owners; improper allocation of resources; uncertainty in regulations and lack of proper market survey, had contributed to the problems of the airline sub-sector.

He disclosed that the country had been losing billions of naira to foreign airlines because of policy summersault adding further that the sector needed experienced professionals in the Ministry.

He opined that apart from allowing experienced personnel to direct affairs at the ministry, government should initiate aircraft tax free measure and limit the use of foreign registered aircraft in the country, among others.

Also speaking, Prex Porbeni, a pilot from the defunct Nigeria Airways lamented that bootlicking was one of the major problems in the Ministry adding that when people are ready to say and stand by the truth instead of shortchanging the system, the sector would grow.

“If the Nigerian government policy on expatriate is strong enough, it will check the system because presently, foreign airlines call the short in the aviation; they are aided and abetted by ministry officials to kill the sector’s business rather than empower local industry to become strong enough”, he said.

According to him, theNigerian C ivil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should also enforce, not necessarily on books, the employment of Nigerian pilots as it was done when Nigeria Airways was in existence in order to develop capacity.

“Another problem is that domestic airlines are looking for finished products, that was not the situation in the days of Nigeria Airways, I as a young pilot, gained experienced at the Airways because they employed us and invested in us”, he added.