N1Bn Ticket Money Develops Wings @ Aero Contractors

Management of Aero Contractors and officials of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) which currently holds 60 per cent shares of the airlines have uncovered ticket fraud in excess of N1 billion perpetuated by some staff of the airlines.

This is coming on the heels of accusations late last year by some passengers that the airlines has devised a novel system of airlifting passengers one hour before its advertised take-off time, thereby denying hundreds of  Nigerians flight seats every week.

Aero Contractors has been embroiled in labour crisis but the NigerianAviationNews reported yesterday  that some of the airlines staff in charge of ticket sales were pocketing the proceeds of sales for several months.

NigerianAviationNews quoted an inside sources at the airlines who  said that the staff in collusion with some station managers of the airlines are operating separate bank accounts in Lagos and Benin stations.

The discovery was made after the new majority owners (AMCON) came on board and thereafter men of the Nigeria Police Force were invited to assist in investigation.

Already, a senior staff (name withheld) of the airline at the Benin Airport station in the custody of the Police for questioning for alleged role in the fraud.

During the initial investigations by the police what was earlier thought to be common fraud which involved just one or two officials was found out to have assumed wider dimension with more than 15 ground staff (from ticketing, reservation and cargo units) in the web.

Aside from the non-remittance of passenger tickets sales to the official account of the airline, it was also discovered that that over 70 per cent of proceeds from cargo freighting were diverted to private bank accounts.