Louis Ibah
Medview Airlines Pls has decried the lack of credit support from Nigerian banks to indigenous investors in the airline business saying the trend impacted negatively on the financials of the airline in 2018.
Chairman of the airline, Mr. Abdul-Moshean Al-Thunanya and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Muneer Bankole who spoke at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the airline held in Ikeja, Lagos linked the credit drought to the lack of trust between banks and airline owners noting that local airlines were also made to operate under the most difficult environment in Nigeria with multiple taxation from regulatory and government agencies in the aviation sector.
“There is the lack of support and trust from Nigerian banks towards aviation business and this does not help,” said Bankole.
“The aviation sector remains highly taxed and the government and aviation authorities have demonstrated in their attitude and pronouncements various negative support to address the issue of double taxation in the airline industry,” he added.
The airline’s gross profit reduced by 293 per cent in 2018 over the 2017 figure and the airline closed the year with a loss after tax of N10.33billion.
The airline Chairman, Al-Thunanyan in his speech at the AGM lamented the “effect of the economic downturn in Nigeria as impacting adversely on the operations of Medview Airlines.”
“There was a reduction in credit opportunities which in turn affected our income. Multiple taxation and the continued lack of aircraft maintenance and repair infrastructure in Nigeria also added to our cost of doing business,” said Al-Thunanyan.
According to him, the airline Chairman, “the revenue in 2018 was flat when compared with the same period in 2017.”