International aircraft lessors have blacklisted 13 Nigerian airlines due to various contract defaults, according to a report by BusinessDay on Wednesday.
The affected airlines include Aero, Air Peace, Arik, Azman, Dana, Green Africa, Ibom Air, Max Air, NG Eagle, Overland, Reno Air, United Nigeria Airline, and Value Jet.
It was revealed that these airlines were blacklisted for refusing to pay lessor fees as per the terms of their contracts.
Additionally, they faced blacklisting for taking international lessors to court and failing to return leased aircraft on demand after breaching payment agreements.
The contracts stipulate that lessors can demand the return of their aircraft if payment terms are not met.
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Notable lessors that have blacklisted Nigerian airlines include Planesense, Jetcraft, AerCap, Air Lease Corporation, and Avolon, among others.
This development has significantly impacted the operations of local carriers, making it challenging for them to compete with foreign airlines on international routes.
As a result, only a few Nigerian airlines can secure wet-leased aircraft, which are less profitable than dry-lease aircraft contracts.
Emeka Nwafor, Managing Director of Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport, commented on the situation: “Apart from foreign exchange problems, there is also the blacklist problem that airlines are facing with aircraft lessors.
Some people ordinarily would want to invest in the industry but because of the behavior of some other people in the past, they won’t.”
