The Nation Newspaper

Category: Aviation

  • Insecurity: Fed Govt introduces machine readable cards at airports

    Insecurity: Fed Govt introduces machine readable cards at airports

    The Federal Government has introduced machine-readable cards at the country’s five international airports for passengers.

    The airport are in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Abuja and Port-Harcourt.

    It said the measure was intended to create a database for the movement of persons across borders in the face of challenges.

    The Comptroller-General of the Nigerian  Immigration Services (NIS), David Paradang,  said  at the launch of the cards at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, last weekend, that the cards would ensure accurate data on movement, boost security profiling, and ensure easy facilitation of passengers at the airports.

    He said it took the organisation  some time with its partners to design the cards, which  would ensure Nigeria joins other global players in deploying new technology for passenger facilitation at airports.

    He said the number of international migrants and  security threats have increased over the years, hence, the need for the cards.

    Paradang added that with the development, Nigeria had responded to emerging trends, adding that for the cards to remain relevant, NIS has to look for experts who are proficient in French and Spanish languages.

    He said: “The need to accurate data of foreigners coming into the country and those going out, easy analysis of data, easy facilitation and sharing of data among sister agency.”

    He said the cards would also make simultaneous scanning of passengers possible, and could attract tourists and business organisations into the country.

    Paradang said:  “The machine readable cards are completely different in general from what we used to have before. It was quite a long list, scan them and make facilitation very difficult. The key issue about the current cards is to have facilitation matched with security and the machine readable passports are working with the machine readable cards .

    “It makes it faster for people to move through the airport processes and it can generate information that would be used and shared with all security agencies.

    “Facilitation and security now marry very seamlessly and the question of procurement is not an issue at all because we as immigration service are very key in attracting tourism and investment into this country. We want as many people as possible to choose Nigeria  and that would make our airport faster in processing passengers and in getting the right information faster. More people will like to come to Nigeria.”

    He noted that all NIS staff have been adequately trained on the new system, maintaining that the migration to the latest technology began as early as 2007.

    Commenting on the cards, the Assistant Comptroller-General, NIS, Zone A, Lagos, Mr. Nuhu Ibrahim, said  the cards were designed to complement operations at borders and enhance security.

    He explained that the service would continue to take advantage of new technology in order to boost security points across the country.

  • ‘Fed Govt should patronise NCAT’

    The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has called on the Federal Government to patronise the Nigerian College  of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria, Kaduna State to train pilots and aircraft engineers under the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

    Training pilots and aircraft engineers on government scholarship at the NCAT, the association said, would save costs  and  reduce capital flight.

    The huge sums spent to train the pilots abroad, NAAPE said, should be deployed in NCAT, which requires adequate funding to actualise its mandate and accelerate development.

    According to the Public Relations Officer of NAAPE, Bunmi Gindeh, the use of the college for the training of pilots and engineers will assist the institution in many areas.

    NAAPE spoke against the backdrop of the over 127 pilots and engineers that recently graduated from their training  and type rating in different institutions across the world.

    The pilots and aircraft engineers were trained at Afrika Union Aviation Academy, Mafikeng, South Africa,  Lufthansa Flight Training Network, in Germany, Fujairah Aviation Academy, United Arab Emirates and  Royal Jordanian Academy, Amman, Jordan .

    Gindeh said: “Allowing the pilots to be trained at the aviation college in Zaria , would  help the institution with highly needed funds for development, as well as mitigate against capital flight, not to talk of the cost saving element.

    “This effort would definitely help in bridging the gap of availability of trained manpower in the country.”

    The  NAAPE official added that NCAT has standard training facilities and manpower for training of pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.

    The official said the association is  excited over the local content bill proposed by the National Assembly to make it mandatory for airlines to employ certain number of indigenous pilots in their flight deck.

    Gindeh added: “National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) is overjoyed with the statement of intention of the President of the Senate with regard to an impending aviation local content act.

    “We are happy that the intended act will make it mandatory for local and foreign airlines to engage Nigerian pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.”

  • FAAN faults previous airport concessions

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN)  has faulted previous airport concessions, describing their automated revenue system as fraud.

    The firm that handled the deal kept officials of the authority in the dark on how the various revenue points were captured, FAAN said, adding that such arrangement could no longer be sustained.

    FAAN said its  personnel must know every transaction, adding that the  details of automation  in the past focused only on aeronautical sources of revenue, concentrating only on the large airports.

    Its General Manager Coporate Communications, Yakubu Dafi, said in this dispensation, the automation focused on aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue sources.

    He said there were indications that non-aeronautical sources of revenue would be higher in the next two years if well captured by the automation processes now in place.

    According to Dati, the agency was largely kept in the dark by the automation carried out in the past because the concession was handled by an external company “in a black box to FAAN” and therefore; it was not transparent. He said: “ But in the present automation, the contractor deploys and maintains the equipment and software, while FAAN’s staff  are trained to operate and use the system.

    “So, we know every amount of money that is entering our accounts, even the financial transactions by our clients who run shops and restaurants are captured by the system, so there is full transparency because our staff are empowered for full visibility.”

    In the past, he said, the invoices generated by the external company were customised, but in  the present automation, electronic invoices are generated by the agency in a more efficient and effective manner and this means full ownership of invoicing process which enhances reconciliation.

    He said the recent automation done on the revenue sources has increased the authority’s revenue by about 17 per cent.

    “ There has been increase in the revenue of the agency since the introduction of the new automation system, and it has been able to close loopholes through which funds that belong to the agency are siphoned  by unscrupulous individuals. Automation  has ensured a steady progress in revenue collection, which is expected to rise up to N70 billion when the automation of all the airports is completed,” he said.

    An executive of the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association ATSSSAN, FAAN branch, who asked not to be identified, said the workers would support automation, so far it is transparent.

    He expressed satisfaction with what has been done so far to boost the authority’s revenue saying: “We opposed the former concessioner because our investigation revealed to us, and we were convinced, that it was not transparent. Instead of increasing our revenue, we were losing money. At a time, we stopped getting our allowances and the money paid to maintain the airports stopped coming. We fully support automation, but it must be transparent,” he stressed.

    He noted that the automation has not fully taken place, adding that while the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja has been fully automated, Lagos and Port Harcourt were yet to be fully automated, adding that from the increase in revenue from the already automated system, “I am sure by the time the automation is completed, we would be earning N60 billion to N70 billion annually.”

  • Operators fault govt ’s directive on royalties

    Operators fault govt ’s directive on royalties

    The Airline Operators of Nigeria ( AON ) has  faulted the Federal Government’s directive stopping foreign carriers paying royalties to it from October 27.

    Its Executive Chairman, Captain Nogie Meggison, said the directive was another step towards undermining domestic carriers.

    Meggison said the measure would cause significant revenue loss to the government, which needs such funds to bridge the critical infrastructure gap in the industry.

    According to him, the utilisation of Bilateral Air Services Agreement ( BASA) funds and royalties assisted in funding major aviation projects across the country.

    He lamented that the decision of the government was taken unilaterally, adding that experts ought to have been conculted before such a major decision is taken. He said the government hurriedly cancelled the agreement and communicated same to foreign carriers.

    Meggison said the government, through the Ministry of Aviation, only informed the group after it had cancelled the payment of royalties to the country.

    He said the Ministry of Aviation violated the industry regulation of notice of ‘rule making’ which requires that stakeholders be given 90 days notice to make their input on any matter before it becomes law.

    The AON boss said though the stoppage of payment of royalties by foreign carriers was in line with the Open Skies Policy, the country  was not ripe for such a policy that throws its airspace to foreign carriers to the detriment of indigenous carriers.

    He said the move was another attempt to devalue the domestic aviation market after the multiple entry policy, which had adversely effected the carriers.

    “If something drastic is not done to correct these anomalies, the domestic carriers of today will be out of business in five years,” he warned.

    Meggison wondered how government would raise substantial funds to liquidate its over N174 billion borrowed by the Ministry of Aviation given the stoppage of royalties by foreign carriers.

    How would the government pay back the loans used to fix the airports without funds accruing from royalties paid by foreign carriers.

    About two years ago, Senate President David Mark urged the Federal Government to authorise  relevant agencies, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), to compel some foreign airlines to pay over $249 million accruing from fines and royalties.

    Last year, the Ministry of Aviation spent over  N7.5 billion  on the rehabilitation of airports out of the $80 million BASA funds domiciled with the NCAA.

    The Federal Government secretly signed the agreement on the abolition of commercial agreements and  royalties by foreign carriers a  month ago.

    According to industry sources, about N150 billion is said to be  collected as royalty from the foreign airlines annually.

    The BASA money is the royalty  foreign airlines pay to Nigeria as charges for the extra rights they requested for and got outside the original bilateral agreement between their countries and Nigeria.

    Currently, Nigeria has 78 BASAs worldwide of which about 30 are being utilised.

    The cancellation of the collection of the BASA charges, according to  sources, is borne out of the position of the International Civil Aviation Organisations (ICAO) and International Air Transport  Association (IATA) that airlines should be allowed to operate into each others’ countries without paying  royalty.

    While countries  from  Africa and many other developed countries are slow to embrace the policy,  Nigeria rushed to approve the decision without, despite its economic implications on the industry.

    With the approval  for the abolition of the BASA  fund collection, the foreign carriers may have now actively taken over the country’s aviation sector with no competition from the domestic carriers, a sectro analyst said.

  • NCAA urges domestic operators to train pilots, aircraft engineers

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), has urged domestic airline operators to invest in the training of pilots and engineers, as well as other industry professionals .

    The   Acting Director-General of NCAA, Benedict Adeyileka who made the call, said it is only such investment that would enhance indigenous capacity in the sector.

    He told The Nation that a situation in which most of the airlines have foreign flight crew because indigenous professionals do not posses the requisite experience and training to close the manpower gap in the industry, is undermining the growth of the aviation industry .

    He said the criteria placed by some domestic operators to engage young pilots is too high to attract some category of pilots, who are yet to get enough flying hours to be in command of an aircraft .

    He said the over 500 flying  hours set by a certain operator to engage pilots is too high, even as he urged the affected carrier to review the flying limit so as to give room for budding pilots .

    Adeyileka,  said the NCAA will convoke a meeting with domestic operators to consider ways of engaging young indigenous pilots , so as to reduce pilot unemployment in Nigeria .

    He said there are over 300 unemployed pilots who were trained both at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology ( NCAT), in Zaria, Kaduna State and other training institutions across the world.

    He explained that on graduation, the  young pilots only acquire  25 flying hours, while most airlines require between 250 to 500 hours to engage some category of pilots .

    Meanwhile, the Managing-Director of Bristow Helicopters Nigeria Limited, Captain Akin Oni, has attributed the pilots predicament inability to pass competence tests, and low quality training from overseas training institutions as part of the reasons why  many indigenous pilots are unable to secure employment in the aviation sector.

    Oni, who spoke last week while unveiling the 20 cadet  helicopter pilots to be sent to the United States by Bristow Helicopters for a one year training at the academy run by the firm in America, said the 20 cadet helicopter pilots trainees would cost the airline over $ 500 million, adding that it costs about $250,000 each  to train  cadet pilot for the one -year ab initio training programme.

    Bristow Helicopters, Oni said  has trained over 300 helicopter pilots in the past thirty years, as part of its capacity building programme  in the aviation sector.

    Oni said Bristow Helicopters will continue to invest in the training of indigenous pilots, as part of its contributions to improve indigenous competence and competitiveness reduce the number of expatriate pilots in its employ.

    He said the airline is carrying out the manpower development programme in compliance with the local content  policy of government meant to create job opportunities for qualified Nigerians to run critical sectors of the economy .

    Oni said airlines  incur more costs to engage foreign pilots, for which they pay more to  guarantee  their security in view of kidnapping, huge costs of accommodations , travel expenses, salaries and other incidentals associated with foreign employees .

    The Bristow Helicopters boss said some of the 20 cadets would spend some time at the Nigerian College Of Aviation Technology ( NCAT), Zaria, Kaduna State and the International Aviation College , Ilorin for ground studies and basic flying rules , before they travel to the United States.

  • SAHCOL bags award

    The Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited ( SAHCOL)  has bagged the “Outstanding Aviation Provider in Africa”, in the maiden Leadership Awards for African Achievers (LAFAA 2014).

    The award was presented to SAHCOL  last week in Lagos.

    According to the organisers of the awards, SAHCOL was picked “based on its  world-class services and sterling performance in the aviation sector in Nigeria.

    “It was also based on its  contributions to the task of making air travel safer in Africa.”

    The award is a ‘pan African platform instituted for the purpose of identifying, honouring and encouraging extra-ordinary men, women and institutions of African origin across the globe, deemed to have distinguished themselves in various fields.’

    Since its privatisation and handing over to the SIFAX Group in December 2009, the firm has developed business modules geared towards ushering in efficient and speedy service delivery.

    SAHCOL is  investing in personnel development, state-of-the-art equipment, fleet replacement, and massive infrastructural development, with the goal of meeting, and exceeding customers’ expectations.

  • ‘Poor planning causes airline collapse’

    The Managing Director, Discovery Airlines, Captain Mohammed Abdulsalam, has identified poor planning in the management of operational costs and schedule of aircraft maintenance as one of the reasons many domestic carriers collapse.

    He said many airlines failed in the past because their managers did not draw robust plans to ensure all operating aircraft are not due for maintenance about the same time.

    Such poor planning in the schedule of aircraft maintenance, he said, puts pressure on the operator in an environment where funds are not easy to come by.

    He said the new carrier would learn from the lessons of the previous carriers in ensuring that it runs a profitable model in an industry where capacity still remains a critical issue.

    He said competitive fares were not enough incentives to attract passengers but  excellent pre-flight and other customer-centric services. Abdulsalam argued that if any airline was able to structure its insurance policy, acquire aircraft under convenient terms, and structure its aircraft maintenance, such a carrier would survive the harsh economic environment.

    He said  the major aim of the airline was to enhance passengers’ experience without compromising safety as it planned to begin flight operations this week.

    He said: “We are not coming into the system just like any other airline; we want to make a difference in the industry. Over the years, I want to categorically say that passengers have not been enjoying value for money, but with our entry into the sub-sector, passengers would experience a difference.

    “We want to raise the bar in the industry and make our services be competitive with what we have abroad. Without the passengers, there can never be the airlines.”

    Abdulsalam noted that unlike  Europe and America where there are finance companies willing to lease aeroplanes to operators, Nigeria is  seen as a high-risk country and operators are, therefore, forced to pay upfront, making them to grapple with limited resources.

  • Competition forces airlines to crash fares

    Competition forces airlines to crash fares

    Competition engendered by the entrance of more operators into the domestic airline sector is forcing carriers to lower fares on some destinations. Apart from the reduction in air fares, domestic airlines are also adjusting their flight schedules to enhance capacity.

    Investigations revealed that air fares on the Lagos-Abuja and Kano routes have been reduced from over N20,000 on a one-leg trip to about N10,700.

    The reduction is predicated on the entrance of a new carrier, AZMAN Air Services, on the Lagos-Abuja-Kaduna and Kano routes.

    Besides the use of lower fares to attract passengers, airlines are offering other inducements, including longer periods for bookings before payment is made.

    Because of the competition, Dana Air and Aero Airlines have also reduced their fares on the Lagos-Abuja route, offering a single seat for between N9,000 and N12,000.

    The new air fares are displayed on large billboards at one of the domestic  terminals at the Lagos Airport.

    According to investigations, air fares may become cheaper as more operators resume.

    Among the new operators are AZMAN  Air, Discovery Air, Hak Air, World Peace Airlines and WestLink Airlines, which are at the final stages of their  documentation with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    According to a source, operators on ground are Overland Airways, Aero, Dana Air, Med-View and Arik while IRS, Chanchangi, West Link and Discovery Air are yet to start operations.

    Executive Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), the umbrella body of domestic carriers, Captain Nogie Meggison, said the coming of more carriers was good for the industry.

    He said more domestic carriers would increase capacity for the existing carriers, as it would enable airlines to sit up in their strategy to remain in business.

    He said passengers would benefit from more operators as some airports that were hitherto not covered would join the nationwide air link.

    But, investigations reveal that the commencement of operations by AZMAN  Air Services on the Lagos- Kano-Abuja-Kaduna routes may affect the operations of IRS Airlines, when it eventually resumes.

    The new carrier, it was learnt, is consolidating on the routes flown by IRS, which operations are temporarily  grounded, and Chanchangi.

    Efforts by IRS to resume service two weeks ago were hampered by the crash landing of its Fokker 100 aircraft in Niger Republic on return from maintenance checks in Europe.

    Another operator, which may be affected by the operations of Azman, is Chanchangi which remains grounded.

    On their part, Discovery Air and World Peace Airlines are planning to begin operations. This is sending jitters down the spines of major operators, including Aero.

    The airlines plan to resume operations on over 11 routes including  Lagos, Abuja, Uyo, Calabar, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Yola, Warri and Jos.

    The Managing Director of Med-View, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, said more operators were required to address the problem of under capacity in the sector.

    He said new airlines were welcome, adding that the quality of service would attract patronage to carriers.

    Bankole added: “They are welcome. The beauty of it is that the industry is under-utilised. We are 170 million people, so how many airlines are we talking of now?

    “These are still part of the things we are saying; we have no doubt, it depends on the quality of your service delivery to your clients; and all you need to do is to enhance your safety performance records.

    “We need more to come out, we are still very far away. They are all our friends and we need to improve.”

  • NAMA workers seek transfer to NCAA

    Workers in the flight calibration unit of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) are seeking transfer  to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    They said  since  the unit  was moved from NCAA to NAMA, the department and their equipment, including the Hawker Siddley 125 aircraft used for flight-checking of navigational aids, have been abandoned due to paucity of funds.

    The workers, who pleaded not to named, said the unit had been abandoned since it was moved to the airspace agency.

    Investigations revealed that the services of the calibration flight unit have been contracted to a private firm.

    Operations at the unit, it was learnt, have remained at a low ebb,  because the internally-generated funds of NAMA  could not pay for the responsibilities handed to it by the NCAA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN).

    The Senate Committee Chairman on Aviation, Hope Uzodima, last week described the unit as prostrate.

    He said the unit, which ought to be used for flight checking of navigational aids, was not functioning as its managers could not justify the huge sums spent to fix its equipment.

    He called for collaboration between two agencies to fix the equipment as the huge sums spent to make its console serviceable have not yielded the desired result.

    In March 2012, NAMA  took over the operations of the Navigational Aids Flight Inspection Surveillance (NAFIS) from the NCAA in line with the Federal Government’s directives.

    Facilities handed over to the agency  included one calibration jet,  hangar and office complex at the local wing of the Murtala  Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    According to a source,  there is the need to review the revenue sharing formula between the two agencies, considering the additional overhead cost to NAMA on the calibration unit.

    Nigeria still depends on ASECNA, the Senegal-based regional equivalent of NCAA, to have its navigational aids  calibrated.

    NAFIS, the agency saddled with calibrating NAVAIDS, is supposed to ensure frequent realignment of the vertical and horizontal signals from NAVAIDS for accurate navigation. Enroute and terminal or designation NAVAIDS are expected to be calibrated regularly or based on pilots’ reports.

    The handover of the equipment was necessary to flight-check all the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) at the airports, particularly at the Lagos and Abuja airports where the volume of traffic is high.

    The former Managing Director of NAMA, Nnamdi Udoh, said the calibration aircraft during hand-over, helped to diversify its business strategy, adding that it also boosted its revenue base.

    He said: “The HS 125 we inherited from NCAA is fast, but calibration needs a slower aircraft like the one that ASECNA is using. Right now, there is a console that is being fitted into the aircraft, which the NCAA , as I understand, has already paid for.”

    He said other countries had started making contacts with the agency to calibrate their navigational equipment, adding that when the agency takes delivery of the aircraft and start providing services for other countries, it would further boost its revenue.

    His words, “Already, other countries have started calling on us to start this service and calibrate for them. So, it is a worthy venture that NAMA is going into.”

    He said the calibration aircraft  would save the agency over N200 million on the calibration of equipment every six months and generate N500 million in two years.

    Udoh said: “Apart from the savings, we are going to make money. We spend more than N200 million for calibration every six months. Within two years, we will generate over N500 million. As conservative as I want to sound, this is a business that should be encouraged.”

  • Air Serbia boosts revenue

    Air Serbia has announced a significantly improved performance in the first three months of the year with a 66 per cent increase in passenger numbers to 364,924, compared with the same period last year.

    The airline’s passenger carrying capacity, which is measured by available seat kilometres (ASKs), has jumped by 93 per cent resulting in a 47 per cent increase in revenue during the first quarter of the year.

    In the same quarter, Air Serbia bought three Airbus aircraft – two A319s and one A320.

    The increase in passenger numbers is being seen across the network, boosted by connectivity with the Etihad Airways global network.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia, Mr Dane Kondic, said: “Air Serbia has built a solid foundation in the six months since it was launched and is on track to break even in 2014.

    “The improved passenger numbers and revenue reflects the growing appeal of the airline for leisure and business travel across the Balkan region and beyond.

    “In addition to strong growth in passenger revenue, we are also growing very important cargo revenue, which provides more stability to the revenue base of the business.”

    Cargo tonnage increased 46 per cent to 175 tons in the first three months compared with the same period last year, as the network expanded, reliability improved and the cargo capability has been marketed effectively to customers.

    Cargo comprises general cargo items, perishables, including exports of local Serbian cheese, as well as spare industrial parts and electronics.

    “The improved performance of Air Serbia shows our strategy to grow the business based on strong governance, a modern fleet, a growing and connected network, and a commitment to our guests to be the best, is working.

    “Our focus is on providing value, convenience and comfort. We are listening to our guests about what they want and in doing so, we are steadily growing demand,” Kondic added.