Nigerian-approved Hajj airways — Max Air, Air Peace and Umza Aviation Companies — have but to signal the 2025 pilgrims airlift settlement with the Nationwide Hajj Fee of Nigeria, NAHCON.
On January 15, NAHCON introduced the number of Flynas, Air Peace, Max Air and UMZA Aviation Companies Restricted as official carriers for the 2025 Hajj operation.
Nevertheless, it was gathered that solely Flynas, a Saudi-designated Nigerian Hajj air service, signed the pilgrims airlift settlement with the Hajj fee on Monday, March 10.
The 2025 Hajj pilgrims airlift settlement was signed by the Chief Industrial Officer of Flynas, Khaled Alhejairi, and the Chairman and CEO of NAHCON, Prof. Abdullahi Saleh Usman.
Nevertheless, findings by this newspaper have proven that as of Friday afternoon, March 14, the three Nigerian airways haven’t but signed the 2025 airlift agreements with NAHCON.
The explanations for his or her refusal, it was gathered, included disagreement over forex of cost, pilgrims allocations and rejection of some airways by some state governors, amongst others.
Insiders are anxious that this delay of not tidying up the settlement situation with the native airways might have an effect on the Hajj operation as a result of Nigeria had already introduced that it will start sending its pilgrims to Saudi Arabia by Might 5.
Findings by this newspaper have proven that the delay within the native airways signing the settlement would deny them the chance to safe favorable touchdown slots in Madinah airport.
As an example, Saudi Arabia’s Normal Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) portal for submission of Hajj flight requests has been open since October 6, 2024 – greater than six months in the past. Nevertheless, no Nigerian native airways have submitted a request, despite the fact that the closing deadline is a couple of month away — April 28, 2025.
Aviation specialists say the delay in buying GACA slots might bar the native airways from getting good slots that will allow it transport all its pilgrims on to Madinah airport, thereby reigniting the now rested controversy of Miqat (a chosen boundary the place Muslim pilgrims should enter the state of ihram).
This newspaper studies that between 2015 and 2019, Nigeria, for the primary time, achieved a 100% feat of transporting its pilgrims to Madinah earlier than Arafat, thereby ending the squabbles over Miqat.
It was additionally discovered that the three different airways have didn’t signal the airlift settlement over a sequence of disagreements with the fee.
Insiders mentioned Flynas, with 22, 893 pilgrims, can be paid in its dwelling nation’s native forex — Saudi Riyal — opposite to Mr Usman’s claims within the BBC interview.
Insiders mentioned the NAHCON chairman’s resolution to pay Flynas in Saudi Riyal is laughable and fiscally not possible as a result of Nigeria doesn’t have a forex swap settlement with the dominion.
“This additionally exposes the NAHCON management’s poor understanding of fundamental economics. The CBN can’t give Flynas riyal. It has to transform greenback to Riyal to pay the airline based on prevailing change price. Subsequently, the saving he claims Nigeria would make from it’s a hoax,” an insider within the fee mentioned.
Once more, Max Air, it was discovered, has refused to simply accept cost in Naira — the key cause why it declined to signal the airlift settlement. The fee has allotted 23,342 pilgrims to the airline.
One other airline, the Air Peace, has kept away from signing the airlift settlement over the variety of pilgrims allotted to it.
The fee has allotted 9,145 to Air Peace. The airline complained that Umza Aviation Companies — a brand new airline with small plane — was allotted 15,893 pilgrims, practically double the Air Peace’s despite the fact that it has large physique plane.
Some officers of the native airways who spoke to this newspaper in confidence mentioned the NAHCON resolution was not well-thought off.
“The naira cost mannequin is ill-conceived by NAHCON. Regardless that we function in Nigeria, however our bills are U.S-dollar primarily based,” one of many native airline’s officers who declined being named for worry of a backlash mentioned.
The official mentioned all their funds are in {dollars} aside from taxes to NCAA, FAAN, and different Nigerian federal businesses.
“We pay for the plane upkeep, spare components, royalties to GACA, fueling in Saudi Arabia, crews salaries, all in foreign currency echange,” the official mentioned.
One other official mentioned paying airways in Naira to supply their foreign exchange within the black market is economically self-destructive as a result of it will reverse the good points Nigeria has achieved thus far within the international change ecosystem beneath President Bola Tinubu.
“By the point the airways take their Naira to the black market in change for {dollars}, they’d put stress on the naira. The Naira might crash and the shortage of the greenback would return. These are among the adverse implications the NAHCON coverage would have on the financial system,” one other official mentioned.
An official of the fee mentioned NAHCON has a greater method of dealing with the change price fluctuation — the key cause behind the introduction of the naira cost system.
The employees mentioned the NAHCON management can clear up this drawback by, “adopting the Barr Abdullahi Mukhtar’s mannequin of gathering the greenback from the CBN and blocking it into an account.
“The fee entry it solely when it desires to pay the airways. That’s what he did throughout his tenure as NAHCON chairman. This solves the issue of change price fluctuations.”
One other drawback delaying the signing of the airlift settlement was the protests by some state governors who rejected Air Peace scheduled to airlift their pilgrims.
The governors mentioned the airline carried out woefully within the final two years by deploying smaller plane, amongst different operational challenges.
Nevertheless, NAHCON spokesperson, Fatima Sanda-Usara, in her response on Friday, mentioned the native airways didn’t signal due to some points which can be “now being holistically addressed”.
She mentioned a few of these points embody the variety of pilgrims allotted to the airways and the rejection of Air Peace by some states.
Mrs Usara added these points have been ironed out, and the native airways would signal the airlift agreements at this time (Friday).
