THE EFFECT OF AIR TRANSPORT SECTOR TOWARDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

1.1 Introduction

Air transport is one of the world’s most important industries. Its development and technical service achievements make it one of the major contributors to the advancement of modern societal development. The growth in the aviation sector cannot be matched by any other major form of transport due to its technicality and new innovations that is going on in the sector. Demand for air transport services has increased the influence of air transport in the nation and global economy, thereby enhancing rapid movement of passengers, goods and services to the domestic and world market (IATA, 2005). Various flight services are offered today within the sector, there is short-haul and long-haul transport services globally. The chief advantage of this method is the considerable amount of time saved because of the high speed of the flight (Wensveen, 2012).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

In Nigeria, the demand for air transport services has been on the increase within the past three decades. There has been growth in passenger, aircraft and freight traffic as a result of physical and economic development of cities in different parts of the country. Travelling by has air remained one of the most vital transportation innovations of the twentieth century and it has continued to evolve over the years. It enabled the movement of passengers and cargoes in the shortest time and also promoted the demand for both short and long-haul trips. In fact, every part of the world could be accessed by means of airplanes within a 24-hour time frame and thereby promoting globalization. Air transportation has over the decades managed to gain a remarkable market share of the transportation sector in the tourism industry. With the increased number of people travelling every day by airplanes for different purposes, air transportation would continue to take a central stage in the tourism industry. It has become a very significant sector of tourism today. It is believed that air transportation has contributed in no small measure in making the world a global village, in other words, it has been a major player in the globalization process.

Air transportation is a major industry in its own right and it also provides important inputs into wider economic, political, and social processes. The demand for its services, as with most transport, is a derived one that is driven by the needs and desires to attain some other final objective. Air transport can facilitate, for example, in the economic development of a region or of a particular industry such as tourism, but there has to be a latent demand for the goods and services offered by a region or by an industry. Lack of air transport, as with any other input into the economic system, can prevent efficient growth. But equally, inappropriateness or excesses in supply are wasteful (Button, 2008).

Air transportation is principally the use of airplanes to convey passengers and cargoes from one point to another and it is a fast evolving sector. Passengers more often than not are predominantly tourists. The tourism industry is interactive and dynamic in nature and air transport has remained a major player within the industry. Travelling by air has been made easier and more affordable owing to the emergence of budget airlines (Low Cost Carriers) competing with the legacy airlines (Full Service Airlines) and this practically altered the air travel market. Air transportation is susceptible to technological advancements and this over the years has continually changed the face of air travel in different dimensions. These changes cut across both technical (hardware, engineering and safety) and service delivery fronts.

However, air transportation is a highly technology driven sector with its challenges and these are factors that affect its operations within the tourism industry. The tourism market is a very vast market and the demand for tourism services has increased tremendously, especially with air transportation in focus. Air transport has a unique advantage over all other modes of transport if speed, time and distance are major considerations. Air transport is of high value in relation to weight. It is also preferred where accessibility by other modes is a problem. Air transportation is a system with many inter-related parts. Each airport is connected to the system through the airways and other airports with which it exchanges flights (Aderamo, 2010).

Therefore, in Murtala Muhammed International Airport where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the effect of air transport sector towards economic development in Nigeria.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that the negative impact of air transport can be observe through the aspect of air pollution to a region, especially emissions of the airplane when taking off from the airport to a particular destination which actually make airports some of the biggest sources of these pollutants and major public health hazards. Given the fact that transportation Infrastructure is very crucial to the growth of the economy, the situation of Nigeria transportation infrastructure is at a poor state.

The consumption of airplane fuel produces carbon emissions as by product, in addition to carbon-dioxide, sulphates, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, all of which extend the impact of aviation on global warming. Air transport sends out all these pollutants directly into the atmosphere, compounding the warming impact of the pollutants. This pollution moves miles downwind, adding to lot of health diseases like asthma, heart and lung disease couple with huge number of cancers. The combined negative effect of all these pollutant multiplies the global warming impact of aviation, making aviation currently responsible for an estimated 5-10% of global climate pollution (flyingclean.com 2014).

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of air transport sector towards economic development in Nigeria using Murtala Muhammed International Airport as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To identify main visible impacts of air transport in the area under study;
2. To examine the importance of air transport in a region; and
3. To examine the process involved studying how the air transport business has affected the lives of the people in the area under study.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What are the main visible impacts of air transport in the area under study?
• What is the importance of air transport in the area under study?
• What is the process involved studying how the air transport business has affected the lives of the people in the area under study?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There are no significant factors affecting air transport sector in the area under study towards Nigeria Economy
• H1: There are significant factors affecting air transport sector in the area under study towards Nigeria Economy

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1.7 Significance of Study

The study is justified by the need to provide empirical understanding of the impact of transportation infrastructure improvement to the economic growth of Nigeria and how it influences the development process. As stated by Boopen (2006), Transport improvement have opportunity cost in terms of alternative investment that can be carried out by the government. To ensure that resources are well allocated, policy makers need to have empirical base on which to draw their plan.

An empirical knowledge of how transportation infrastructure improvement will affect economic growth need to be established so that adequate plan can be made for the transport sector. Also, there is the need to have a direct linkage between transport infrastructure and economic growth, in which prediction can be made to determine the level of transport investment that can achieve a desired level of economic growth.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the effect of air transport sector towards economic development in Nigeria using Murtala Muhammed International Airport as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this establishment to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).