The Managing Director (MD) of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, has revealed that foreign airlines owe the agency about N18.98billion, representing service charges collected through the International Air Transport Association (IATA) settlement platform.
The MD revealed this while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on Tuesday
The FAAN boss had, in her presentation, said airlines were expected to settle charges within two weeks, but noted that several operators had exceeded that period, with some debts spanning 30 days, 90 days, and, in certain cases, over a year.
Kuku listed the indebted foreign airlines as: Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Air France, Royal Air Maroc, Turkish Airlines, and Africa World Airlines.
Kuku, however, noted that the debt profile was dynamic because airline liabilities were often ‘rolling balances’, meaning new charges could accumulate while older debts were being settled.
The FAAN MD said Virgin Atlantic owed about N1.35 billion, while KLM, EgyptAir, and Ethiopian Airlines each owed over N1 billion in varying categories of current and outstanding payments.
Other airlines listed in the debt profile include Air France, Royal Air Maroc, Turkish Airlines, and Africa World Airlines, with debts ranging between N700 million and N1 billion.
A member of the committee had asked FAAN why airlines that failed to settle their charges within the stipulated timeframe were not sanctioned or grounded in Nigerian airports.
Lawmakers further queried why certain airlines were allowed to operate despite being indebted beyond 90 days or even one year, stressing that such practices could undermine revenue enforcement.
Responding, the FAAN MD explained that international airline payments were processed through a global clearing system managed by IATA, which sometimes introduced settlement delays.
The committee directed FAAN to provide detailed addresses and documentation for all airlines listed as debtors, stating that the operators would be formally invited to appear before the House to explain the outstanding liabilities should they fail to clear the debt.
Meanwhile, the national carrier of Turkey, Turkish Airlines, has threatened to cancel all its operations into Nigeria following picketing of its offices in Lagos and Abuja airports by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) on Tuesday.
According to the airline, it operates in Nigeria in full compliance with the country’s labour laws, contrary to the claim of the union.
The airline, in a statement yesterday, by its management and made available to journalists, regretted the picketing of its offices by the officials of NUATE, despite the ongoing dialogue with the union.
It also debunked the claim of NUATE that it flagrantly disobeyed Nigeria’s labour in its relationship with its staff in the country, adding that it also operates in compliance with the regulatory framework.
The airline said the safety and security of its passengers, employees and operations remained its top priority.
The union had on Tuesday disrupted operations of the airline in Lagos and Abuja airports over the sack of seven staff for unionism.
