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The Airline
Operators of Nigeria (AON), an umbrella association of all domestic
carriers in Nigeria, on Wednesday, stated that it did not betray Arik
Air, neither is it divided despite the irregularities surrounding its
position on the new ‘pay as you go’ mode of payment for terminal
navigational charges recently introduced by the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency (NAMA).

The association is
reacting to statements credited to Joseph Arumemi-Johnson, the Chairman
of Arik Air, that they airlines reneged on agreement reached between
them not to accept the new billing system. The association had, in a
meeting chaired by its General Secretary, Mohammed Joji, agreed not to
comply with the directive of the airspace agency. However, after
threats by NAMA to ground defaulting airlines, over 95 per cent of
members of the body paid the fee.

Explaining that the
meeting in which the carriers agreed not to comply with the new ‘pay as
you go’ declarative was held in his absence, Steve Mahonwu, the
President of the association, while speaking at a briefing held at
Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 (MMA2), Lagos, said that the association
will not kick against genuine government stipulated principles. “I was
in Botswana when that meeting was held; and after I came back I wasn’t
briefed by the general secretary,” he said. “And that does not mean
that AON is dead and is a betrayer; however, it should be noted that
AON cannot and will not be used against government principles.”

Operators should pay charges

Mr Mahonwu, who
argued that airlines using government facilities are expected to pay
their dues, said that lack of communication led to the breach which
resulted in the different views as regards the payment of the charges.
“We are to support our parastatals, for our own is to make the industry
move forward,” he said. “With what has happened, I have now sent
notices to my colleagues informing them not to send any information to
the press without going through the office of the chairman.”

Mohammed Tukur,
the Assistant Secretary General of the association, said that a
communication gap between leaders of the body necessitated the trouble,
and added that the issue has been resolved and that all domestic
carriers have complied by paying the charges. He also said that the
case in court will soon be addressed. “I’m not aware of when the
meeting took place and I wasn’t involved,” he said. “The chairman was
out of the country, and that was what led to this issue of pay and do
not pay being dragged about.”

Meanwhile, the association’s chairman expressed gratitude to the
management of Arik Air, for their role in enabling the country acquire
the coveted United States Category One status. “We want to appreciate
Arik, because they use their facility to enable Nigeria achieve
Category One,” he said. “For in [the] days of Nigeria Airways, we had
the certification, but after series of bottlenecks the certification
was struck out.”