Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has disclosed that about N1 trillion will be need in order to revive Nigeria’s ailing aviation sector.

The minister made the disclosure during a four-day public hearing put together by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation with the aim of turning around the country’s aviation industry.

Sirika noted that there were no plans by the government to sell off the country’s airports as is being rumoured in certain quarters, adding however that infrastructure at the airports needed to be improved on.

“One trillion naira will be needed to turn around our aviation sector, we will not sell the airports and nobody is carrying any structure to anywhere,” he said.

“In fact, what we intend to do is to put them into better use.”

The minister noted that the aviation ministry had set-up a 9-man delivery team to discuss with stakeholders in the sector on concession of the airports.

He said that the team is expected to work together with concerned labour unions to oversee the day to day running of the concession, assuring that the whole process would be conducted in a very transparent and effective manner.

“We have to improve upon what the Nigerian Ports Authority has done to ensure there is more efficient and transparent process and ensure that government also makes more money,’’ Sirika said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun, has describe domestic flights as unsafe, saying he does not fly them.

Lasun said he would opt to travel 12 hours by road from Abuja to Oshogbo than to fly.

“If someone like me, the Deputy Speaker of this country, does not travel (with) domestic airlines, it means something must be definitely wrong with the (aviation) sector,” he said.