Amid speculations that government may require that middle seats in airlines be left vacant on flight resumption, Chairman of Air Peace, one of the national carriers, Mr. Allen Onyema has said implementing the middle seat regime will not be profitable in view of its revenue-depleting implications for airlines.
Onyema made this remark at the webinar on Aviation Industry Restart Plan hosted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Tuesday night, urging the government suspend the implementation of the middle seat regime on board.
According to him, airlines are totally against it as it would sound a death knell for the airlines that are already struggling to remain afloat due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Onyema advised that any action that would be taken by the government, including the planned palliatives for airlines, should be tailored towards retention of jobs in the industry.
The Chairman appraised the various safety measures being taken by the regulatory authorities to ensure a seamless resumption of flights, saying nothing must be left untouched.
He reiterated that instead of implementing the middle seat regime, other safety measures could be put in place to protect the passengers and the airline staff from contacting COVID-19.
Onyema said: “I have said it several times and I don’t think there is any airline that will readily accept this middle seat regime. All over the world, the biggest airlines are emphasizing it. It doesn’t really make any sense. That depletes the resources of these airlines. it will definitely kill the airlines because the purchasing power of the Nigerian people is very low.
“If you want to now distribute the cost on the few people who are flying, about 50 percent or 70 percent who are flying, maybe an aircraft of about 140-seater, you are flying only 90 people, you have to distribute the other seats not being flown on the passengers”, he added.
