FG May Issue Visa to Passengers at Lagos Airport

There are indications that the Federal Government might introduce the
issuance of visa to passengers who are transiting from the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to other African countries, which
would enable them move freely until they board their flights to their
final destinations.

 

If this is done, it would promote Lagos airport as hub for West and
Central Africa and it would enhance the market of Nigerian carriers,
which presently dominate these destinations. In addition to that, it
would generate huge revenue for the Federal Government while attracting
passengers from the sub region who presently connect their flights in
Europe.

 

According to a senior Immigration official at the Lagos airport, what
is presently obtained is that passengers destined for ECOWAS countries
are not given visas but their movement is restricted at the airport,
which limits their freedom to shop and spend money.

But if issued transit visas, such passengers could move around, shop and sightsee before boarding their flights.

 

Countries that have developed hub destinations in Africa like Ethiopia,
Kenya, Egypt, and Algeria, have adopted this policy which has
significantly expanded their passenger market; as such barriers and
bureaucracy of obtaining visa at embassies for regular travellers have
been eliminated at the airports.

 

It has also enhanced their major airports, which are used as hub, as
passengers easily connect their flights to other destinations.

Industry expert and CEO of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe, said that
the Lagos airport also needs transit lounge, which would serve as
rendezvous for transiting passengers, noting that this was necessary
because it is the basic facility for any airport that operates as hub to
other destinations.

 

Also, travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba Travel Market, Ikechi
Ukoh, who acknowledged the importance of transit visa, noted that
transit visa alone cannot grow a hub.

 

He pointed out that there should be availability of aviation fuel at
relatively lower price and fares should also not be exorbitant.

“I thought initially when we were presenting the argument of the
transit visa that the transit visa is a magic bullet that could make
Lagos a hub, there are 15 countries in West Africa, most of them don’t
have airlines and they depend completely on foreign carriers.

“If you are going to Burkina Faso from Lagos, you will pay $200.

 

That is exorbitant; so in a situation where Nigeria provides most of
the air transport in West Africa, it is only natural that Lagos becomes
the hub. “What needs to be done is that aviation fuel should be made
available and the price is relatively low. Then there should be easy
cargo business environment and easy access to visa and transit passage,”
he advised.

 

Ukoh remarked that if these three factors were in place, it would be natural for the Lagos airport to become a hub.

“But as at today it is very difficult to transfer passengers. The Lagos
price environment is high so people prefer to go Accra to buy fuel.
What of cargo; how is it being managed?

 

“You either have a cargo hub, managing what you are carrying in the
belly of the plane or you have a passenger hub, managing the people
inside the plane, but in Lagos, we are efficient in managing the people
inside the plane; we also lack the efficiency to manage the things under
neat and we also lack the efficiency to manage the plane itself.

 

“Why will people fly to Accra to go and buy fuel? Even Nigerian
carriers go to Accra to buy fuel so automatically Accra becomes the
hub,” he added.