United Nigeria Airlines and Cronos Airlines have entered into a strategic partnership to establish a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Nigeria, aimed at reducing operational costs and enhancing the global competitiveness of Nigerian airlines.

As part of the collaboration, the two airlines signed an interline and codeshare agreement through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Lagos.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of United Nigeria, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, highlighted the absence of primary aircraft maintenance facilities in Nigeria, with only line maintenance services currently available .

Okonkwo noted that only line maintenance services are currently available in Nigeria, with no facilities for main base maintenance. Although he did not disclose the installation costs of the new facility, he mentioned that basic maintenance of aircraft outside Nigeria usually costs at least half a million dollars, excluding any major repair.

Okonkwo expressed confidence that establishing an MRO facility in Nigeria would help operators avoid the high costs of sending aircraft abroad for maintenance, while preserving the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

He added that having such a facility locally would help address flight delays caused by aircraft on the ground (AoG) situations and associated operational challenges.

He said, “As you may be aware, we do not have an MRO in Nigeria to provide main base services, we can only provide liner services in some of our fleets.”

“They have to cross countries to be served. This costs us a lot of resources. These are things that impact the overall cost of operations.

“We are confident that with this, we should not only reduce operating costs for United Nigeria but would also offer services to other operators who may need them.”

“This will also help the nation save its scarce foreign exchange and open a new door to other aspects of high participation in our nation as other countries will also visit us to avail or benefit from our services.”

Okonkwo commended the Civil Aviation Authority of Nigeria for its established regulatory procedures.

Benefits of Interline Agreement and Codeshare

On the airline’s regional and international operations, he said the interline and codeshare agreement would enable the airline to establish the necessary infrastructure and take essential steps to integrate its services.

• He stressed that this would strengthen regional operations, improve air transport in the region and support commercial activities.
• The CEO of Cronos Airlines, Mr. Andreas Kaiafas, explained that the partnership arose from the need to bridge the regional aircraft maintenance gap. He noted that the facility would not only serve Nigerian airlines but also other airlines in the region, with emphasis on cost optimization.
• Kaiafas highlighted the current challenges, noting that it typically takes five to six hours to position an aircraft for maintenance.

He stressed that reducing this time to a two-hour flight within the region would alleviate logistical hurdles, such as visa and hotel accommodation issues, which significantly increase operational costs.

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