GLOBALl Chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund, Mr. Zemedeneh Negatu, has criticized the ownership structure of Nigerian airlines, arguing that the industry’s reliance on sole proprietorship is unsustainable and inconsistent with successful global aviation business models.
He warned that Federal Government subsidies would not address the challenges faced by domestic carriers in Nigeria, advocating for a model suggested successful airlines such as Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways, which are government-owned or partially government-owned.
Negatu emphasized that most Nigerian airlines are undercapitalised and primarily owned by individual investors, leading to financial vulnerability in a capital intensive industry.