Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika has advised local airlines in the country to take advantage of the bad roads in the country to create new routes and expand their businesses.
He said it was a sign of laziness that most local airlines were concentrating on the Lagos-Abuja-Port Harcourt routes while neglecting many other places.
Sirika, who spoke on a Channels TV programme on Monday evening, said that the Federal Government encourages many more investors to come into the sector.
However, he urged the potential new entrants to focus on new routes.
He said, “The population of Nigeria about 200 million people and the landmass with dilapidated infrastructure especially roads support aviation businesses and air transportation in Nigeria . The local airlines must not be lazy; they should get up and develop the routes .
“Before now , Nigeria Airways was having its planes filled on Lagos to Maiduguri route. Nigeria Airways was going to Makurdi , Yola , Sokoto . But these people ( local air operators ) want to do the triangle of Lagos , Abuja and Port Harcourt , the easy way to make money.
“Today , we have airlines that have created new routes . Somebody suffered the initial shocks to open those routes and kept the faith, develop the confidence and trust of passengers .
“The market is there . Our entrepreneurs in aviation should invest in aviation because the business is there and the rate of return on investment is 31 per cent, the highest in the world .
“The profit margin in aviation is usually small . In Africa , it is a bit big and in Nigeria , it is bigger .”
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