Due to foreign airlines' decision to prevent travel agencies from accessing cheap cabin classes in their inventories, the operations of the agencies have been under intense pressure. Some foreign airlines even withdraw from the Nigerian market due to their inability to repatriate their trapped funds back to their respective countries. These have posed a very serious threat to the sector and, by extension, the entire aviation industry, in recent months.
The President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Susan Akporiaye, while speaking at an industrial business symposium in Ibadan, Oyo State on Thursday 29th September, says that Nigerian travel agents have closed shops and sacked their workers because there is no business. "Agents are unable to sell the high fares being displayed by the foreign airlines."
Susan also warned travel agents to prepare for a tougher time as the international carriers are not ready to shift ground at the moment.
“Currently, several travel agents are out of business.
There is a projection that if this continues, over three million direct and
indirect jobs will be lost.
“These are jobs related to travel which include
hotels, shops around the airport, ground handlers, travel agents, cleaners,
tourists, photographers, and canteens amongst others,” Akporiaye said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has warned that it
won’t hesitate to sanction any identified non-compliant international airlines
selling air tickets in hard currency.
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, while
issuing the warning, advised the airlines not to push the nation to the wall,
insisting that while the country needs the airline's services, the airlines also
need the Nigerian market.
“NCAA had been directed to swing into action. And
once we find any airline violating this, we will definitely deal with them.
They blocked travel agents from access. They also made only expensive tickets
available,’’ the
minister stated.
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