ABUJA, JANUARY 26, 2017 – Helicopter service operators in Nigeria are already seeing a huge rise in clientele, as demand seems to outstrip supply.
Wealthy Nigerians, whose private jets cannot land in Abuja during the six-week period when the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja would be shut down, are seeking help on how to make their journey from Kaduna to Abuja seamless.
All flights to Abuja will terminate in Kaduna Airport pending the completion of works on the Abuja airport.
Executives of oil and gas companies, top officials of blue chip companies and other extremely rich people are scrambling for few available seats to shuttle between the two cities.
Some firms are said to have entered into agreement with some of the operators to cater for their top managers within six months that the aerodrome would be closed to traffic.
The sad news is that some of them with few numbers of helicopters are said to be turning down offers as they do not have the capacity, staff strength to do shuttle services and at the same time maintain their lucrative oil and gas contract in the Escravos with minimal equipment.
The planned closure of the aerodrome in March this year for total rehabilitation of the Abuja airport runway has put high end travellers in a tough situation as many of them are said to dread the two-hour drive by road from Kaduna to Abuja.
Within the six weeks of closure, activities would shift to helicopter shuttle and from the oil and gas hub of the Niger Delta to Kaduna and Abuja. New Telegraph learnt that some helicopter operators are planning to get more aircraft to effectively provide the services.
A top official of one of the helicopter operators, who spoke to New Telegraph, said the pressure would be on the few operators like Bristow, Caverton, NextOil, OAS, Alpha and a few others.
Base Manager, Nige-ria, Africa Region for Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, Capt. Ayo Stilo Oni, said the airline would promote the service to their clients who usually are from the oil and gas industry, top business moguls and other affluent customers.
His words: “There will be dedicated service by us from Abuja to Lagos. Like you know, the airport is going to be closed in March. The Federal Government has made Kaduna available.
Kaduna to Abuja by helicopter is about 45 minutes. “We have gone to Kaduna. We have also gone to Minna.
We will make a choice of where to go that will be convenient for our passengers. Helicopters don’t need runways. The Abuja runway is the only thing that will be closed.
The airport is not going to be closed. If the airport is closed, there won’t be any communication. Helicopters will still be flying. We will use our helicopters to transfer passengers to Kaduna or any other locations that are safe and convenient for our passengers.”
