Qatar Air Bloacked From Plying Kano Route

The Ministry of Aviation has blocked Qatar Airlines from flying the Kano route, Daily Trust learnt lately.
This makes it the fourth foreign airline to be so barred from the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport.

Qatar Airlines had applied to be permitted to fly to Kano and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, Daily Trust has learnt.
Earlier in the year, the ministry had blocked three foreign airlines - Emirates, Turkish and Etihad - from extending their commercial flights to

Abuja and Kano, apart from Lagos where they currently operate.
Though Qatar Air officials declined comments, documents obtained by Daily Trust show that Qatar Air had sought additional landing permits from


Nigerian aviation authorities to extend its flight operations from Lagos to Kano and Abuja since the past four months but the ministry declined the request, and instead advised it to consider flying to Enugu and Port Harcourt airports as alternative entry points in Nigeria.
Joe Obi, the media assistant to the aviation minister said he had no comment to make on the matter.

However, details of a Bilateral Air Services (BASA) negotiation meeting between Qatari officials and Nigerian aviation officials held between June 24 and 25, 2013 in Doha on review of the existing BASA agreement obtained by Daily Trust indicate that the Qataris presented two options to the Nigerian side to be granted additional landing permits in Kano and Abuja.

The meeting comprised 10 representatives from each side with the Nigerian delegation led by Mrs. Precious P. Mbukpa while the Qataris were led by Mr. Saleh Abdullah Al-Haroon, the director of Ari Transport Affairs department of the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority.

The first option involves the adoption of an open skies policy which will provide unlimited passenger, freight and cargo services with full freedom traffic rights on any immediate and beyond points while the second request was for 21 weekly frequencies to Lagos and 14 weekly frequencies to both Kano and Abuja.

However, the Nigerian delegation led by Mrs. Mbukpa, a deputy director in the aviation ministry rejected the request, arguing that the existing BASA agreement between Nigeria and Qatar made provision for the designated airlines to operate 14 weekly frequencies to Lagos but instead, asked them to reduce the 14 weekly flights to Lagos to seven while the other seven should be routed to Kano.

“The Nigerian delegation informed the Qataris that additional frequencies could be grated to Qatar Airways on BASA rights if they operate to Enugu and Port Harcourt as entry points,” the document read.

“We asked for 39 additional landing permits apart from the existing 14 which we operate on the Lagos route to enable us extend flights to Kano and Abuja, making it 49 weekly flights into Nigeria but the Ministry of Aviation denied us the permission and instead they asked us to go to Enugu and Port Harcourt. But we told them that we accept the offer of Enugu and Port Harcourt as additional entry points only for future use”, an official of the Qatari embassy in Nigeria said.

During the meeting in Doha, it was equally agreed that the Nigerian delegation communicate with their Qatari counterparts after further consultation with their principals within a period of 90 days as the deadline but the Qataris said they were yet to be communicated to the by the Nigerians.

The Qatari official who does not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the issue said, “How can we be asked to reduce our 14 weekly landings in Lagos to seven and take the remaining seven to Kano? We were categorical in our request that we need additional 39 slots, 21 in Lagos and 14 to Kano and Abuja each. But they are telling us that if we agree to go to Enugu and Port Harcourt, the permission could be granted.”