The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has suspended the planned 800 percent increase in airline navigation service charges.
According to a statement released by NAMA on Monday, Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, intervened to halt the hike that was supposed to go into effect in September.
Recall that on July 26, NAMA's managing director (MD), Umar Farouk, announced plans to raise the unit fee, or minimum payment, for en-route air navigation services from N2,000 to N18,000.
Also, Farouk announced that the terminal navigation charge (TCN) domestic minimum and unit rate would increase from N6,000 to N54,000 for each flight.
The MD said the agency also plans to increase service hours for airlines from N50,000 to N450,000, an 800 percent increase per extension, to recover diesel and logistics costs.
However, the planned increase in navigational charges, which was scheduled to go into effect on September 1st, has been halted by NAMA in response to the intervention of Festus Keyamo.
“Further consultations will be conducted to address all concerns,” NAMA said.
