Nigerian airlines will collapse in three months if tax reform laws are implemented — Allen Onyema

• New tax laws brought back charges removed by 2020 laws

Allen Onyema, Air Peace chief executive officer (CEO), says the new tax laws have brought back charges that the 2020 tax laws were removed.

In an interview with Arise News on Sunday, Onyema said the taxes include customs duties on imported aircraft, aircraft parts, and engines, as well as VAT on tickets.

He said they will further burden airlines with additional costs.

“There is VAT now on the importation of aircraft. So, if you buy an aircraft of $80 million, you are sup- posed to pay 7.5 percent of $80 million,” he said.

“Do the mathematics. From money borrowed from the bank, interest rates are 30 to 35 percent. So, you bring in spare parts, you pay 7.5 percent on your spare parts.”

The Air Peace CEO said the airline industry cannot withstand additional burdens under the new tax laws.

“If we implement that tax reform, Nigerian airlines will go down in three months,” he said.

Onyema said Nigerian airlines have decided to stop tolerating unruly passengers from 2026.

“What Nigerian airlines will not do in Cotonou, they do it here, and it’s unfortunate,” he said.

“If you saw some people that went on aircraft from London, would they go into British Airways and perform such acts?

“They promoted themselves to business class when they paid for the economy. They brought out three bottles of rum they bought from the duty-free, drank them, and started threatening everybody on the aircraft.

“When we got here, a senator, somebody called me and said, ‘Those guys, if you don’t release them.’ I said, I’m not even keeping them. The law is keeping them. Let them answer. We’ve got to blacklist them.