Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAPs) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest and prosecute all debtor airlines in the country for the N15 billion debt profile of the ticket and cargo sales charge (TSC).

The Secretary General of ANAP, Abdulrasaq Saidu, who made the call while speaking to reporters in Lagos on Thursday, described the airlines’ action as an economic offence that has grown into an entitlement for the airlines, which piling debts are killing the agencies.

Saidu called on EFCC to intervene in the matter, investigate and arrest those responsible for the debts, which were amassed when there was little or no accountability in government.

Reacting to the events of the past few days, Saidu described what was happening as stealing by trick of public funds as the monies the airline operators were unwilling to let go were paid by the passengers and not the airlines.

He said “This money they owe is stealing by trick of public funds; air travellers pay that five percent, and that money has never been a tax to any airline as some of them will erroneously lead people to believe.

“The money is a charge on passengers; the airlines only collect it on behalf of government to allow facilitation, imagine the chaos at the airport where people are travelling if that money is collected as you intend to travel and the fraud that would happen.”

He noted that in the past, the former Minister of Aviation, Fidelia Njeze, intervened with the pay-as-you-go technique to stop further piling of the debts, but same airlines scuttled it.

According to Saidu, ANAP is ready to go the extra mile to help the agencies and service providers recover their debt through every legal means because the N15 billion orchestrated debts.

“We are calling on EFCC because this is their purview. They need to wade in as this anomaly is killing the industry.

“We disagree with the airlines who are trying to justify their criminal acts and impunity; spending public funds and we are calling the EFCC to come in because the money they are talking about does not belong to them in the first place.

“The money is for aviation development, so when unremitted, how do they have justification to complain about regulation?

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART) and former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), have explained that the payment of the five percent TSC charges cannot be suspended as the airlines earlier demanded.

According to them, the regulations require: all domestic and international airlines operating in Nigeria to forward to the Authority through electronic platform all relevant documents as Flown Coupons, Passengers and Cargo Manifest, Air Waybills, Load Sheets among others within 48 hours after each flight (NCAR 18.12.1.1).

They also said the regulations further require that all airlines join IATA / BSP (International Air Transport Association/ Billings and Settlement Plan) specifically for the purpose of remitting five percent sales charges to the Authority and should execute a contract with the Authority to that effect.