New Nigerian cargo airline

SKYWAY Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) in Nigeria is looking to set up a US$500 million cargo airline.

“We don’t want SAHCOL of Nigeria; we want a global SAHCOL. We want to take it to South Africa and Europe. We want to build a Nigerian conglomerate that everyone will be proud of,” managing director Isaac Orolugbagbe says.

There are no firm financial plans and no mention of talks with lenders at this stage, but Orolugbagbe remains optimistic. “SAHCOL is not looking for money; rather, money is looking for the company,” he remarks.

Its plans come at an uncertain time in the Nigerian market. The eight-day strike organised by labour groups to protest against the removal of fuel subsidy cost the company N80 million (US$496,000). SAHCOL also lost around N50 million ($310,000) during Libya’s civil uprising as customer Afriqiyah Airways could not operate.

Share this story