On Monday, Peter Mbah, the governor of Enugu State, unveiled Enugu Air, a state-owned airline, and announced that it was ready for operations.
Mbah said that the airline, which primarily flies from the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, is meant to create jobs for young people and provide reliable access to markets.
Hours after the launch, FIJ spotted and reported how the new airline still lacked the digital infrastructure needed to facilitate direct bookings. Enugu Air relies on XEJet, an exclusive Premium Class airline, to help it book flights.
Incidentally, Enugu Air is not the first state-owned airline to launch in Nigeria without a clear operational strategy or licensing structure. Two state governors have launched premature airlines in the past, only for them to fizzle out shortly after.
This has happened in the past with former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha, who launched Imo Air, and Benedict Ayade, former governor of Cross Rivers State, who inaugurated Cally Air.
ROCHAS OKOROCHA AND IMO AIR
In January 2017, Okorocha, then governor of Imo State, launched Imo Air. The airline’s first aircraft landed on January 24 at Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport, Owerri.
Okorocha said it was one of five planes and would be managed by Dana Air for ten years before the state would take over operations.
At the time, Imo Air had no operating licence of its own. Okorocha explained the state partnered with Dana Air due to its ‘track record’ and planned to grow the airline independently by 2018.
“Imo government does not have an operating air license. So we needed to partner with a good and qualified airline operator,” Okorocha said.
“Hence, the choice of Dana Air because of its proven track record and sincerity of purpose. The Imo Air will be operated by DANA, and we have a contract of ten years with them. We have five of these aircraft and the first one has just landed and four other ones will start operation in a few weeks time.”
Okorocha also promised the residents that the airline would transform the economy of Imo and put more jobs in the residents’ hands. He believed the airline would help to position Imo as a green state for investment after Abuja and Lagos.
However, Eight years after Imo Air made its first landing, it has gone silent, and nothing has been heard of it.
BEN AYADE AND CALLY AIR
Like Okorocha, Ayade attempted to launch a state-owned airline when he commissioned Cally Air in July 2021.
At the launch of the airline, Ayade said that the airline was going to break the monopoly operated by certain airlines in the region, and also provide unrivalled access to the residents.
He further said that although Cally Air would be operating through Aero Contractors, a private airline, it did not belong to it and was built with zero loans.
“Cally Air belongs to Cross River State. No loan, no facilities were obtained, and it is one hundred per cent a property of the citizens of Cross River State,” Ayade said in 2021.
“I don’t own it, Aero Contractors do not own it. No one has a percentage share. The recruitment was done by aero contractors, but we have a responsibility to ensure that the sensitivity and ethnic differences in Cross River are reflected.”
He added that Aero Contractors would operate the airline for only six months when Cally Air would get its own air operator’s certificate (AOC). He emphasised that its aircraft was only on lease to Aero Contractors.
However, by 2023, there were speculations that the airline might have stopped operations following a N900 million debt to Aero Contractors.
A check on Cally Air’s website on Tuesday, showed it was active but had no facilities for ticket booking.
Although these airlines are often unveiled as state-run institutions, many are actually run through public-private partnerships (PPP). This means that the private company operates the airline, handles the flights, licences and bookings, while the state government provides the name or branding.
In some cases, the government may get a small share or simply pay to have its name on the project. But during launches, they present it like the state government owns and runs the airline.
Meanwhile, the latest statement from Enugu Air confirms it is taking the same route as previous state-owned airlines.
After multiple callouts, Enugu Air stated on its X page that XEJet Limited is only managing operations on its behalf until it secures its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and other necessary approvals from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“XEjet Limited is acting as an operational partner to Enugu Air, overseeing operations until Enugu Air obtains its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and all other required documentation from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),” Enugu Air stated on Tuesday.
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