Flight connectivity in and around the northern part of the country has worsened in recent times as prices skyrocket by almost 100 per cent on the routes currently served, findings by Daily Trust have shown.
The situation became worse after the temporary suspension of Max Air, one of the airlines with a massive presence in the North.
However, there was relief yesterday as Max Air resumed operations starting with Kano-Abuja, Abuja-Lagos and Abuja-Lagos.
Daily Trust reports that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had on Thursday, July 13 suspended the operation of Max Air's Boeing 737 aircraft type with immediate effect, thereby halting the airline's domestic operations as those were the only planes it used for used on the operation.
The NCAA immediately commenced an audit of the airline to redress the identified safety-related issues which include the discovery of a huge volume of water in the fuel tank of one of the aircraft.
Max Air covers more northern states than other domestic carriers. It operates to Kano, Bauchi, Birnin Kebbi, Jos, Katsina, Maiduguri, Sokoto and Yola.
With Azman Air, another airline based in the North presently out of the radar as its aircraft had gone for maintenance, connectivity was further impaired for most travelers on the northern routes.
The implication was in the skyrocketing of fares on the routes served by the existing airlines on the major routes.
Before yesterday's resumption of operations by Max Air, only Air Peace, Rano and Aero Contractors were operating Lagos-Kano, the busiest route in the North, as well as Abuja-Kano with the airfare increased by almost 100 per cent.
As of yesterday, checks by Daily Trust indicated that Lagos-Kano on Air Peace costs between N94,300 (being the cheapest) and N143,000 for a trip on Monday (today). For Rano Air, the Lagos-Kano flight was N100,000 while it costs N101,805 on Aero Contractors.
In June, the same Lagos-Kano flight was N43,000 on Air Peace; N50,000 on Azman Air; and N55,000 on Max Air if a passenger was booking ahead.
But as of today, the tickets have skyrocketed even as the Abuja-Kano flight cost almost N100,000 on Rano Air as of yesterday.
"Last week, I was ready to pay N90,000 to Kano from Abuja but it was fully booked. I couldn't get a seat on Rano Air," a passenger said yesterday.
Currently, several states in the North, including Maiduguri, Yola, Gombe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Katsina and Jos, hitherto connected by flights, are seriously underserved.
There is also no domestic flight on the Kaduna route at the moment while states like Taraba, Yobe, Jigawa, Zamfara and Niger are not served by any airline despite having an airport.
Speaking with our correspondent, a Kano resident, Malam Abdullahi Musa, said the resumption of Max Air is a relief for travellers but connectivity remains an issue in northern states.
"We hope with the resumption of flights by Max Air, we will have some relief and the prices will reduce. We also learnt Azman may start operation soon. This I believe will provide more options," he said.
Max Air resumes flights
About 17 days after suspension, Max Air yesterday resumed its domestic flights starting with the Abuja-Kano, Abuja-Katsina, and Lagos-Abuja routes.
The executive director of the airline, Barr. Shehu Wada, in a chat with our correspondent, also confirmed the resumption, saying the airline cooperated fully with the NCAA in the course of the audit after its domestic operation was suspended.
Why northern routes are underserved - Expert
Aviation analyst, Alhaji Bello Salihu, blamed the hike in airfares on the northern routes currently served by airlines on the principle of demand and supply. He said the airfares would be expensive because only a few airlines are on the routes.
Salihu, who is the managing director of Butake Resources Limited, a ground handling company, said it was wrong to conclude that northerners don't fly and most airlines concentrate their flights on Lagos and Abuja.
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"You find that all flights are concentrated to Lagos. All of them see Lagos as the only point of arrival or take-off. Anybody who tells you the routes in the North are not viable, maybe they are not viable for their idiosyncrasy that Northerners don't fly but if you look at the history of flight operations, Abuja-Yola; Abuja-Maiduguri; Abuja-Gombe and Bauchi, they have a minimum 70 per cent load factor.
"And based on my knowledge of calculating the profitability of a flight, the direct and indirect cost of operating a 737 which is an average of one hour flight, the load factor of 55 to 60 per cent will give you a profitable flight."
He however stated that some airlines avoid northern routes because of inadequacy of infrastructure and called on the federal and state governments with airports in the North to work out incentives to encourage airlines to operate the routes.
