Thirteen Nigerian airlines have been reportedly blacklisted by international aircraft lessors over various breaches of contracts.

The international airlines are now looking to enforce the terms of their contracts by demanding the return of their aircraft.

BusinessDay reports that the contract breaches include refusing to pay lessor fees over a period of time.

Additionally, domestic airlines refused to return the aircraft as stipulated in the contract when they breached payment terms, opting to take the international lessors to court instead.

The domestic airline action did not go down well with international lessors, forcing them to blacklist, the report added.

The blacklisted airlines, the report said, include Aero, Air Peace, Arik, Azman, Dana, Green Africa, Ibom Air, Max Air, NG Eagle, Overland, Reno Air, United Nigeria Airline and Value Jet.

Lessors who have blacklisted Nigerian airlines include Planesense, Jetcraft, AerCap, Air Lease Corporation, and Avolon, among others.

Airfares to rise

The ongoing saga is expected to increase airfares for domestic travel amid the ongoing challenge of aircraft shortage.

Legit.ng reported that several airlines have grounded aircraft for maintenance but cannot return them to service due to maintenance costs caused by foreign exchange.

Nigerian air travellers are already paying high premiums to fly from one part of the country to another.

For example, the Lagos-Abuja route has increased from N60,000 and N80,000 three months ago to as high as N200,000 or more for a one-way ticket.

Ugandan Airlines begin direct flights to London

Legit.ng earlier reported that Ugandan Airlines announced plan to commence direct flights to Gatwick Airport in December after securing slots.

The airline initially secured slots at Heathrow Airport, which was yet to be cleared by aviation authorities.