AfriPulse
Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace
development, has proposed a bill, “Fly Nigerian Act”, that will mandate
government officials to patronize Nigerian airlines on international routes.
Keyamo spoke on Sunday during the ceremonial send-off of Air
Peace’s inaugural direct flight from Abuja to London Heathrow Airport.
Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the House of
Representatives, and Allen Onyema, chairman of Air Peace, were at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport to witness the event.
“We are going to bring the bill on the Fly Nigerian Air to
him (Benjamin Kalu). He will pass it,” Keyamo said.
He explained that the proposed law would require “every
government official traveling abroad to patronize our local airlines if they
are flying that route first, except if there is no local airline flying that
route.”
Keyamo said the idea is consistent with global practice,
noting that countries such as the United States and India already have similar
laws protecting their national carriers.
“We have the Fly American Act. I think we have the Fly India
Act. We have these laws all over the world, but we have not implemented them,”
he said.
“If a government official, member of the house of
representatives, member of the senate, minister, DG, or government official is
flying to any part of the world, the first question you ask them is, is there a
Nigerian airline flying that route?
“You must buy that airline ticket first, except that they
are not flying that route. That is the Fly Nigerian Act that we want to do.”
The minister assured that his ministry is committed to
ensuring the legislation is passed, saying the move would strengthen the
country’s aviation industry and boost confidence in domestic carriers.
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Source: NigerianEye | Read the Full Story…
