The Managing Director of Turkish Airlines, Mr. Ali Bulut, has disclosed that the airline may commence scheduled cargo operation from Lagos –Istanbul in September in response to the demand of its loyal customers.He disclosed this to our correspondent in an interview in the airline office in Lagos.Bulut stated that cargo business is a big business and that as such the airline has applied to the Ministry of Aviation in Abuja for approval to operate scheduled cargo operations from Lagos –Istanbul, Istanbul to Lagos.

The managing director revealed that most airlines make much revenue from compared to scheduled passenger operations, adding that already what Turkish airline operate is charter cargo.According Bulut,Cargo is truly a serious business anywhere in the world and most airlines make more profit from cargo than passenger flight. Presently, we do charter cargo flight to Nigeria, but we have applied to the Ministry of Aviation in Abuja to grant us license for scheduled cargo operations, which we hope would be approved by the ministry. What we want to do is Lagos-Istanbul, Istanbul-Lagos cargo flight”

He continued, “We hope to start this in September immediately we receive approval from the ministry. At inception, what we want to do is once a week flight, but after two or three months, the frequencies can be increased to either two or three flights per week depending on the patronage. Our study reveals that Lagos-Istanbul does not have much cargo, but Istanbul-Lagos is regularly high with cargo. So, it is an avenue we are looking to tap into On the skyrocketing price of aviation fuel, which has risen to N220 per litre in Nigeria and efforts the airline has made to remain in business despite the high cost, he posited that the aviation fuel issue is not peculiar to Nigeria but a global challenge, adding that it has made some airline in the United States to fold up.The Turkish boss added that apart from the high cost of aviation fuel, the airline pay other charges which increase the  airline cost of operations, adding that that is why in aviation an empty seat is a loss to the organisation.

In his words, “The problem of aviation fuel is a global crisis and many reputable airlines in the world even in the United States have either closed shop or reduce their frequencies. We are not operating from the moon and so, we cannot be isolated from others. At present, it is a pity that aviation fuel takes at least 50 per cent of airlines’ operating cost, which does not augur well for airline business. You have to know that apart from fuel, many other operating costs too are injected into our operations. For instance, we pay many charges, which include landing and parking, navigational charges and over flyer charges. Again, the crew, aeronautic engineers and other things too are built into operations.

High cost of operations, he said is not only challenge to Turkish Airlines but to every airlines, adding that the airline does not operate a route because others are flying there but because there is traffic for  the operations.That is why in aviation industry, any empty seat is a loss for the airlines because the moment you take off, the cost of that seat cannot be regained again. It is a challenge for every airline across the globe, but at Turkish, we always prepare for such season. That is why we don’t just fly to a destination because others are going there. Before we could fly to any route, we are rest assured that we have traffic for our operations.