No cargo-airports in Africa, says Fadugba

CARGO-only airports are a drain on revenues, according to Nick Fadugba (right), secretary general of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). Instead, he says, governments and private investors should be building both passenger and cargo airports to take advantage of both revenue streams.

“There is one state that wants to build a cargo airport and I am saying, for an airport, your two sources of revenue are passengers and cargoes. If you now say you want to build a cargo airport, you are limiting your revenue by 50 per cent already.

“I ask: ‘How many cargo airlines are in Nigeria? How many cargo airlines are coming into Nigeria from abroad?” You sit down and you do the business plan.

“I am a little bit worried that if you restrict yourself to cargo [that] there will be sufficient revenue to make it viable.”