The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Finchglow Travels a subsidiary of Finchglow Holdings, Mr. Bankole Bernard, has said that there are no unviable airports in the country, if the managers of these airports take time out to ensure activities are put in those airports so as to boost non- aeronautical revenue as well as aeronautic.
Bernard who spoke on sundry issues when he was visited in his Island office by the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents ( LAAC) said as the situation currently stands airports, even the ones with less flight activities have picked up showing that the average Nigerian is gradually accepting to fly for one hour instead of spending 24 hours on the roads.
He said, “As a matter of fact, let me tell you that airport terminals are no longer what they used to be. As a matter of fact, in some countries, they have turned their airports into a shopping malls – local and international where you can do and undo with a lot of things and that alone attracts passengers to ply such airport.
“So, if we have such a viable business outlook, why should we continue to say an airport is not commercially viable? There are quite a lot of things that we need to do and when we put those things in the right perspective, an airport becomes commercially viable.
He continued, “Do you know that the Baltimore/Washington International (BWI), Thurgood Marshall Airport in United States as small as it is, it is an active airport? It is active because they are building more shops and renovating the place so people can enjoy the airport.
“Akure airport for instance had only one airline going there before, but now about three airlines go there. Are you still saying the traffic is still the way it was? Let me remind you at this point that Nigerians are constantly developing the culture of flying.
“Statistics reveal that the recovery of travel in Nigeria is the highest in the world. The figure is higher than the world and continent figures. But this is the same place where we have no money nor do we have a national carrier. This tells you that there is a culture. We have developed the flying culture and the number keeps increasing by the day. If the number is increasing by the day, it means it is a viable market.”
No unviable airports in Nigeria, it takes right competence to grow traffic- Finchglow boss
