The Nation Newspaper

Category: Aviation

  • Don’t merge NCAA, NAMA, NIMET, experts warn govt

    Don’t merge NCAA, NAMA, NIMET, experts warn govt

    The battle line seems to have been drawn between the Federal Government and stakeholders over the merger of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) as the Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA). They are asking the government to reverse a decision which it has raised a committee to implement. KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.

     

    Barring any last-minute hitch, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA), and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency ( NIMET), will this week become the Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA) following their merger.

    The proposal to merge the three aviation agencies follows the white paper issued by government on the report of the Steven Oronsaye led presidential committee on the restructuring and rationalisation of public parastatals , commissions and agencies.

    But as the committee set up by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, gets set to implement the policy, all is not well.

    Stakeholders are asking the government to reverse the merger or face its wrath.

    They say the merger negates the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which prescribed the separation of the operations of service providers from that of a regulatory agency.

    In 1999, agencies under FCAA, were unbundled to create the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), NAMA, NCAA, and NIMET.

    According to experts, of the 197 member-states of ICAO, 110 have separated their agencies to avoid collision between service provision and regulation.

    “Separation of provision from regulation is consistent with principles of good governance, the regulatory oversight function must be seen as independent and transparent,” ICAO said.

    Over 110 have complied with this principle and have moved on with the separation.

    Germany, United Kingdom (UK), France, Russia, Ireland, Canada, Ukraine to mention a few are some of the 110 countries that have implemented this resolution.

    Autonomy for the air navigation services provider and its separation from the regulatory oversight function is well established in ICAO guidance material.

    The Executive Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison, said the merger of the agencies is another attempt by the government to thwart the growth and development of the sector.

    Meggison said the domestic airlines’ body is opposed to the merger because it is at variance with prescribed international regulations, part of which it is a signatory.

    He said: “The airline operators under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) disagrees with the Federal Government on the plan to collapse three agencies (NAMA, NCAA and NIMET) into one.The decision is against the ICAO regulation in Section 8335.

    “It is not right to have the NCAA as the referee and the player at the same time. NCAA has been established in compliance with ICAO set standards and practices .

    “We believe information that was given to the committee set up in 2011 to make that decision is obviously obsolete as per ICAO regulation.

    “It is baffling that countries, such as South Africa and Ghana, came to Nigeria to learn about our independent agencies and how they run as per ICAO regulations have gone back to their countries to implement what they came to learn from us. Unfortunately, Nigeria is attempting to go back to the obsolete form.

    “It will appear as if Nigeria was doing everything to fail the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) category one aviation inspection.

    “We know that the government is trying to cut costs because of the recurrent expenditure, but these agencies could be self-sustaining without government funding for their operations.

    “We, therefore, implore the government to take a second look at the recommendation because of the danger it portends to the industry at large.”

    Aviation watchdog, Aviation Round Table (ART), has kicked against the merger of three agencies.

    It said the plan was another wrong decision by the government.

    ART noted that the planned merger should not be allowed to see the light of the day.

    In a statement by Capt. Dele Ore, president and Sam Owolabi-Akerele, ART said: “ The merging of NCAA, NIMET and NAMA to form an agency of aviation is another ridiculous state of affairs for the aviation sector .

    “To avoid any further embarrassment, the contemplated merger should not materialise.

    “Once again, we have retrogressed into the 1995 era. This is another wrong decision by the government and it should be rescinded immediately.

    “Nigeria should not at this time, be seen to be working at cross-purposes to ICAO’s international standards.

    “It would not matter what kind of amendment is anticipated into the establishment Acts of the affected parastatals, Nigeria will be in violation of international best practices. This will be another ridicule to which this country will now be exposed to.

    “Section 30 of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 is explicit and no matter how we manipulate that Act.

    “The new FCAA will no longer be able to regulate air traffic control and meteorological services. The new FCAA cannot be a regulator as well as being a service provider.

    “This exercise was done without wide consultation with the industry and the government was misinformed and misadvised by so-called professionals to serve the own selfish end.”

    Also, Secretary-General, Nigerian Aviation Professionals Association ( NAPA), Comrade Adbulrasaq Siedu, described the merger as anti-development.

    Rather than succumb to the proposal for the merger of agencies, Siedu called on the Federal Government to scrap the Ministry of Aviation.

    He said the Ministry is not adding any value to the sector.

    Siedu said any attempt by the government to implement the approval would erode the gains so far achieved in the sector.

    Siedu continued: “We are part of the stakeholders and cannot fold our hands, close our mouths to allow the destabilisation of the past gains in the sector to be wished away unchecked.

    “It will be suicidal for Nigeria to decide to go back to a system which was tried and failed due to lack of compliance with ICAO practices and set standard.

    “We submit with all seriousness and act of patriotism, to strongly advise President Goodluck Jonathan to scrap the Ministry of Aviation and to allow NCAA to function without any hindrance as this shall be the solution to Aviation unabated logjams.

    “The functions of the Ministry of Aviation do not add value to the parastatals rather, it compound problems.

    “We call on President Goodluck Jonathan to stop the proposed merger as this is not the best way to sustain category one.”

    He advised: “Do not merge NCAA, NAMA and NIMET together but let them statutorily function under the supervision and regulation of NCAA in terms of safety critical issues and the sustenance of category one .”

    Besides, Managing Director, Finum Aviation Services, Kyari Sheri, said the merging was wrong, which must not be allowed to stand. “I think it is one thing that the government should try as much as possible to reverse as quickly as possible. What is on ground is an international practice so Nigeria should not begin to drag us back to what we used to be in those days.

    “In terms of safety, there is no way an organisation can regulate itself and it is not just possible.”

    Meanwhile, some aviation unions and professionals association in a statement in Lagos last week said the merger of the agencies would not stand.

    Speaking for the unions, Comrade Abdulkareem Motajo, general secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Captain Tarnongu, deputy general secretary, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and Comrade Ocheme Aba, general secretary, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers ( NAAPE), said the merger would fail.

    The unions said: “Having critically considered this development, we have come to the conclusion that this decision is highly in error, retrogressive and devoid of wise counsel.

    “We are, therefore, of the opinion that anyone involved with the aviation development in Nigeria will agree that the implementation of this merger plan would reverse all the progress made over the years and take Nigeria back more than two decades. Surely, this cannot be the desire of government.

    “As patriotic Nigerians, we believe that the government must have been misled into accepting the Oronsanye recommendation which would make Nigeria a laughing stock of the international community and bring her into disrepute on matters of maintenance of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) as well as international best practices.

    “The intended merger of these agencies should, therefore, be stepped down immediately and allowed to remain as they are, which is in conformity with ICAO minimum standards.

    “We wish to state most profoundly that if safety and security of the Nigerian airspace is uppermost in our minds, we should discard the merger exercise and allow the aviation agencies to function optimally in accordance with their enabling laws.

    “The intended merger if sustained will return Nigeria to the era of self regulation which portends danger to Aviation Safety and the healthy and orderly development of Aviation in Nigeria.

    “This is the stand of the aviation workers, unions and professional associations.”

    Also, an aviation security expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu ( rtd), said the proposed merger is another disservice to the growth of the industry.

    He said in Lagos: ”Oronsaye must have been wrongly briefed by some egg heads. How do you merge operators of the industry with the regulator? This merger completes what Oduah started – bring the industry under the jack boot of the government. Must the government drive the policy, regulate and operate the industry? We must be in a world of our own and out of the earth planet.”

    Instead, Ojikutu added: “We should get the private operators to invest more on the industry or commercialise government operators, such as FAAN and NAMA as recommended in the privatisation and commercialisation Act of 2000, the government instead is appropriating the industry to itself alone.”

  • How private jet licences are issued, by Fed Govt

    The Federal Government has unveiled the modalities for granting private jet operators’ licenses, denying skewing the process to favour its cronies.

    The government denied that licenses were not given to qualified operators who met the stringent conditions, adding that it did not play politics with the process.

    Spokesperson of aviation parastatals, Mr Yakubu Dati, told The Nation that air operators certificate were issued after meeting the stringent conditions, and not merely an exercise carried out to favour government cronies.

    Dati said the era when licences and permits were issued to anybody was over.

    He also denied that Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and licences for chartered operations were issued to loyalists of people in the government, saying only persons or organisations that met the requirements were given the approval to operate.

    “Aviation is not an industry you just gate crash because of its capital-intensive nature and stringent safety and security requirement. So, even if you are a so-called ‘loyalist’, and you do not have substantive capital base, you cannot make headway in the aviation industry.

    “Moreover, records show that in the past three years, not more than five companies were issued new AOCs. The aviation industry here is a small one, such that the players know one another,” he said.

    He alleged that some charter operators had formed the habit of collecting foreign registered aircraft with foreign crew and would not pay them.

    He said on several occasions, the Ministry of Aviation had to wade in to save the reputation of the Federal Government and the industry.

    To save the country from further embarrassment, he said the Ministry of Aviation had to issue the directive that all foreign registered aircraft operating in the country’s airspace should re-register with the NCAA

    Dati also debunked the allegation that three directors-general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) were changed within three years.

    Dati’s clarification comes on the heels of insinuations by a former DC-10 pilot with the defunct Nigeria Airways, Capt. Dan Omale, who accused the former Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah of bringing about instability in the sector through the removal of chief executive officers of the apex civil aviation body, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    He said: “Now a quick look at that statement shows that it is false. Dr Harold Demuren was the director- general NCAA until 2012. Ms Oduah met him in that position and he continued in that office until 2012, when his statutory final year tenure ended. No substantive director-general of NCAA was appointed until early last 2013, when Capt. Fola Akinkuotu was appointed director-general of NCAA by the president. So, where are the three directors-generals that were changed? As a matter of fact, Capt Akinkuotu, the second director general, was only recently removed.”

    Dati alleged that some operators have resorted to media attacks because they were not allowed to operate foreign registered aircraft illegally in Nigeria, adding that such acts of impunity belongs to the past and would never happen again in the sector.

    “One of the operators, which is unlicensed as a commercial carrier but operates commercial charter flights. This is very dangerous under the radar activity which violates and downgrades the integrity pf the Nigerian aviation safety records.

    Simply put, it is like operating kabu kabu service in the air,” Dati alleged.

    The Aviation Parastatal spokesman also alleged that the company wanted to import foreign registered aircraft without due process and when he was stopped he heightened his media attacks at his real and imagined enemies.

    “They just refused to submit to the five steps of obtaining AOC. This was the old order in civil aviation where aircraft from other jurisdiction are brought to the country and start operating.

    “The clamp down by NCAA on these risky and illegal activities made some people to unleash attacks on those they believe stopped their illicit activities.”

  • Category One: Nigeria knows fate soon

    •US inspectors end visit

    The four-man team of inspectors from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA), has concluded its safety audit of the re- certification of Nigeria.

    The team has advised NCAA to improve its civil aviation regulations and training of its technical personnel.

    The team, according to the Acting Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), Benedict Adeyileka, will submit its report to a higher authority that will release the report of the re-certification audit in the next 10 days.

    Adeyileka said there was nothing to worry about the audit, as some of the issues raised by the team on some critical elements were known to the NCAA .

    The NCAA , he said had looked at the training of NCAA personnel, which he said is a going concern that the authority continues to address.

    He said the team picked issues with administrative non-compliance, which is being addressed at different levels .

    Adeyileka said the NCAA would work on debriefing the issues noted in the audit to ensure that everything works in line with the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

    He said he could not categorically declare whether Nigeria would retain the category one safety rating , as it does not rest with the NCAA, but other authorities that will look at the report.

    The team, he said, looked at all issues bordering on the issuing of air operators’ certificate, the operations of domestic airlines and other issues .

    Adeyileka said despite the volume of work carried out by the team, it is still not safe to be talking about retention of category one safety rating.

    He said: “It was a whole week of hard work. The US FAA team carried out audit on all aspects of our operations, and we can assure that having looked at the eight critical elements considered during during the audit, there is really nothing to worry about.

    “The team looked at all issues raised in the media about the NCAA , and they were very surprised that the only area of concern is administrative non compliance.”

  • AON: Why Nigeria must invest in hangar

    Until Nigeria establishes its own aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, it will not reap the benefits of such a facility, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has said.

    AON Chairman Captain Nogie Meggison said setting up a national carrier alone would not hasten the development of the sector, adding that hangars have the capacity to create jobs and retain money that indigenous carriers spent on the repairs of their aircraft abroad.

    Capt. Meggisson, who is also President, JedAir, said the setting up of the facility would assist in the training of professionals in the country, including aircraft engineers.

    He said the government’s policy of granting multiple entry points to foreign carriers into Nigeria has contributed to the stunted growth of indigenous airlines.

    Meggison said the unfriendly business environment where operators grapple with multiple charges has not accelerated the process that would lead to private sector players showing interest in setting up aircraft repair centres.

    He said if some of the intervention fund by the government was channelled into the establishment of aircraft repairs facility, the industry would have made some progress.

    “ I don’t think the national carrier is the issue. Our policies are the issue. We had a national carrier in the defunct Nigeria Airways. One of the main issue was not being able to pay for its maintenance bills of airplanes scattered all over the world including Brazil, Ireland, Germany, France, USA, and Israel.

    “If you have a national carrier and you don’t exercise the Cabotage Law or the Fifth Freedom Right of the Chicago Convention of 1945, we are putting water down the drain. If you have a national carrier and you don’t have MRO, you are putting water down the drain,” he added.

  • NCAA, FAAN ready for Nigeria’s re-certification

    NCAA, FAAN ready for Nigeria’s re-certification

    •Audit team arrives from US

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) are ready for the re-certification of Nigeria by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA).

    The audit began this week as the team of inspectors from the US would visit major airports to re-evaluate safety and security issues and processes andprocedures in line with prescribed rules by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

    The FAA awarded Nigeria Category One safety status in 2010 after it certified the country for meeting the International Aviation Safety Assessment standards.

    Spokesman of the aviation agencies, Yakubu Dati, told The Nation that the status has declared Nigeria’s airspace worthy.

    “Within the space of three years after this certification, the various parastatals under the Ministry of Aviation have attained significant milestones,” Dati said, adding that FAAN has between 2010 and 2014, reached a new height, as the organisation is committed to making a conscious effort in keeping both passengers and the public safe and secured at the airports.

    “FAAN is fully compliant with ICAO standards for fire-fighting and rescue operations. Before July 2011, there were only 20 fire tenders available, but now, FAAN has 46 fire tenders. In addition, 450 brand new kits, (equipment as well as personal protective clothing) have been provided for all firemen and women. This has been done to enable firemen efficiently carry-out their duties in securing and safe-guarding the airport terminals, staff and passengers,” he said.

    He noted that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), through the new Air Traffic Management system deployed under the TRACON project, has improved the safety.

    “The TRACON project has been completed with approach radar control in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Area Radar commenced in ontrol Centres. This has significantly increased airspace capacity for the Nigerian aviation industry,” he said.

    He said TRACON has improved safety in the sector in addition to the deployment of control tower solar power for navigational aids, which were unavailable for a long time, and now Nigeria has six navigational aids and 11 control towers to its credit.He said in the review period, NCAA recorded major achievements after the Category one certification in 2010, adding that one of these achievements, is the deployment of flight tracking system, Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS) which was unavailable in the country before the FAA certification.

    “Another pertinent milestone is the IOSA certification and interlining which has never been done in Nigeria. Two local airlines have been successfully certified under this programme and the exercise is currently on going. With the restructuring of the NCAA, Nigeria will have an affective, proactive aviation safety regulator similar to what is found in any advanced countries of the world,” he added.

  • Operators back probe of chartered jet users

    •’It’s good to know amount spent on maintenance’

    How should the ongoing probe of use of chartered jets by some top government officials be ? It should be done without sending wrong signals that the government is against its officials hiring jets, says a private operator

    Mr Segun Demuren, Managing Director of Evergreen Apple Nigeria Limited, a private charter terminal operator and aircraft maintenance centre, said the probe should not allowed to jeopardise their business.

    At a Nigerian Business Aviation Conference on Lagos, Demuren said the operators were not against the probe to ascertain how much was spent on the maintenance of the aircraft chartered.

    He said comments about the use of private, or business jets and their operators have the tendency to stunt the growth of the business.

    Demuren said business aviation is key to the development of the economy, noting: “Serious business transaction and meetings for top government officials and player in private sector reguire fast movement, which is only facilitated by business/private jets. It is not luxury at all, as most people are talking about the Petroleum Minister.

    “It is an essential tool to facilitate business and meetings. That is the global practice. But, in Nigeria, the issue is being misinterpreted in some quarters that government officials are using business jets.”

    The moderator of the forum, Mr Alan Peaford, said it was normal for oil and gas corporations to use business jets, pointing out that for senior government officials and high net-worth individuals to move around, they need to secure private /business jets that could move them to locations where scheduled operators do not fly into.

    He said: “Business jets are required to move senior government officials and key personnel of major oil and gas organisations around to negotiate business that would bring wealth to the country. Nothing is wrong if the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is using business jets to facilitate their operations.”

    An oil and gas logistics operator, Nuhu Adams, said business jets used by government officials were not luxury, as some people are insinuating.

    “It is just a tool for organising serious high networth business.”

    Meanwhile, Acting Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation authority (NCAA) Benedict Adeyileka said the authority has set up a General Aviation Directorate to regulate private jets’ operations.

    He said: “Over 200 business and private jet flights clearances are processed by the NCAA monthly.

    “Over 50 per cent of the civil aircraft registered in Nigeria are used for business and general aviation operations. More than 80 per cent of helicopters registered in Nigeria are used for business aviation operations.”

    Officials of Executive Jets and Evergreen Apple Nigeria Limited, Caverton Helicopters, Triton Aviation, Executive Jets, Evergreen, Topbrass Aviation, Air First, Kings Airline, Easy Air, Prime Air and Concord Airlines were also at the parley.

    The aircraft type used by these operators range from : Challenger 300, 605, Hawker Siddley Beechcraft 900 series, Hawker Siddley 125 , Hawker Siddkey 4,000, Learjet 45, Dornier, as well as Global Express, Gulfstream and Embraer Legacy 1,000.

  • Expert: airlines require multiple licensing structure

    The Chief Executive Officer, Topbrass Aviation, Captain Roland Iyayi, has called for a multiple licensing structure for airlines. The implementation of such structure should be determined by the scale of operations, he said.

    The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), Iyayi said, should license airlines according to the type of aircraft they use for their operations, arguing that classifying all scheduled operators under the same structure was inappropriate.

    He stressed that charter operators, schedule operators and carriers who use small and medium range equipment should not be classified into the same operational category.The proposed licensing structure, he said, should be determined by the scale of operations of the affected airlines, such that the regulatory framework will cater for the carriers according to the volume of operations.

    Iyayi told The Nation that the structure should include: air taxis, for airlines that use small propeller aircraft; regional operators, for those that utilise medium range aircraft and national airlines, which have capacity to fly over the country, arguing that it does not make economic sense to classify all scheduled operators under the same operational regime.

    He called for reduction in tariffs and charges levied airlines, saying that only levy reduction could stimulate the growth of the business. He said the old tariff structure obtainable in the industry is long overdue for review, bemoaning the rate of insurance for registered aircraft, which he said is propeled by the high risk classification of Nigeria.

    Iyayi canvassed the need to reconsider the manpower in the sector’s master plan, saying it is key to its sustainability.

    He said aviation agencies should be in one complex to reduce the amount of time spent by operators while sorting out regulatory and other aeronautical issues.

    He appealed to government to make land available around the airport to enable private sector players have a window to invest in aeronautical and other businesses, which he explained, is in line with the airport city project.

    He also canvassed the convocation of a stakeholders consultative forum, to serve as a platform for industry players to examine the problems of the industry and offer solutions.

  • Accurate weather report can prevent air crash, says NIMET boss

    Accurate weather report can prevent air crash, says NIMET boss

    Air crashes can be prevented through accurate weather report, Director-General of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) Dr Anthony Anuforum, has said.

    Besides, the installation of critical safety weather detecting equipment, including low level wind shear alerting system at airports, can also help to prevent air mishaps, he said.

    Towards this end, the agency has installed nine low level wind shear alerting system at the Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu , Ilorin, Benin and Akure airports. Anuforom said NIMET has concluded plans to install similar gadgets at the Calabar Airport, which will bring to 10 the number of airports where the technology is in use.

    On the cost of equipment installed at the airports, he said: “It is difficult to give these numbers off-hand so I don’t misinform anybody. What is important is that government is supporting us financially. I give you an idea, One typical wind shear alert information system costs anywhere between N150 and N180 million each. That gives you an idea of the kind of investment that is required.

    “I don’t want to talk about the Doppler weather radar. It is a sophisticated piece of equipment. So it costs quite some money. That I can tell you, but I cannot give you now the total figure that we have invested.

    He said the installation of the equipment became imperative because low level wind shear contributed to the Sosoliso and ADC Airlines crashes in 2005 and 2006.

    His said: “These were crashes in the recent times that wind shear had been identified as having a finger print in it. So since then, and based on recommendations from the Accident Investigation and Prevent Bureau (AIPB), government swung into action to provide funding to now equip more Nigerian airports with Low Level Wind Shear alert system.

    “Prior to that ADC crash in 2006, there was no single wind shear alert system in any Nigerian airport. That is the truth. But after that and based on the recommendation of AIPB, the first wind shear alert system was installed at the Abuja airport. It was also part of the Safe Tower Project.

    “Wind shear alert system is not a chep technology. It costs quite some money to install one, and of course, we had budgetary constraints. But the happy news is that presently, we have equipped nine airports in Nigeria with wind shear alert system. The tenth wind shear alert system is being installed at the Calabar Airport. The contractor is on site doing the installation.”

    NIMET could perform its role better as a weather forecasting agency if government provides more funding to support its operations beyond the revenue it generates.

    Anuforom said: “We cannot continue to go to government for money because the resources are getting thinner and thinner.

    “So part of what we are doing is that we are working towards greater sustainability, greater self-reliance; not that you can dispense of government completely.

    “There is nowhere in the world, even in the UK, government still gives the meteorology agency some funding. They also work hard to generate their own funding.”

    He said NIMET plans to increase its revenue base through development of a new business model.

    Anuforom said :” Talking about revenue, we are targeting non aeronautical sources now. The maritime sector, can you imagine the number of ships that come in and out of Nigerian ports and the tonnage .

    They need our weather information. So part of what we are doing in our new realignment is to develop commercial quality meteorological weather forecast both aeronautical and maritime sector.

    “We are doing that. We have recently entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration Agency (NIMASA).

    “We have also signed impact plan and realignment and gone into collaboration with the UK Met Office. The UK Met Office is a good example of a well-developed, modern meteorological service provider.

    When we studied their business model it was clear to us that that was a good advanced met office to copy, to emulate because their business model is that they have succeeded in reducing over dependence on government and we want over time to be able to diversify our services to an extent that our dependence for funding will be drastically reduced.”

  • Arik Air makes history on US flight

    Arik Air has achieved another milestone in aviation, with the operation of its first Nigerian registered commercial aircraft to the United States in two decades.

    Before now, Arik Air was operating a wet leased aircraft with foreign registration into the US.

    Arik Air Senior Vice President (Operations)/Deputy Managing Director, Captain Ado Sanusi described the feat as a major achievement, not only for Arik Air, but also for the industry.

    “Arik Air is proud of this achievement and appreciates the support from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and all other stakeholders in the industry,” Captain Ado added.

    Last week, the airline operated its scheduled Lagos-New York flight using an A330-200 aircraft with registration number 5N-JID. The feat by Arik Air is outstanding because the operations of the flight was staffed by Nigerians.

    The airline’s latest milestone was the result of almost three years of preparation, during which the airline received the Part 129 approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and was also awarded the Extended Range Twin Operations (ETOPS) approval.

    Arik Air started direct flight operations from Lagos to New York in November 2009, using its foreign registered A340-500 aircraft operated by Hi-fly of Portugal and it was the first direct flight between Nigeria and the United States to be operated by a Nigerian airline in the last decade.

  • Curb cargo pilfering at airports, operator urges

    Curb cargo pilfering at airports, operator urges

    THE Federal Government has been urged to install high technology scanning machines and close circuit television cameras at the export and import terminals to curb the rising incidence of cargo pilferage.

    Managing Director of Hont Global Services Nigeria Limited, Humphrey Okonkwo, said many importers and exporters are worried over the lack of monitoring and pilferage of their cargoes at seaports and major international airports, especially when the goods are undergoing clearance and inspection by relevant agencies.

    He said the old practice of ripping the cargoes open could be eliminated if the government acquires state-of-the-art scanners at the air and seaports, thereby eliminating the need for exposure and physical examination.

    He told The Nation that in other parts of the world, cargoes are screened electronically without ripping them open, thereby eliminating pilferage.

    Okonkwo said: “So, the government should put in place better technology and security system in place, I think pilfering at the airports and seaports can be eliminated.

    “The installation of CCTVs is part of it and putting a standard security system in place and then tracking, these can be done.We advise that the government should install sophisticated scanning machines at the airports and seaports as one of the ways of checking pilferage of cargoes.”

    He flayed the double charge regime policy at the ports, and urged government to standardise tariff on import and export to make operations seamless .

    He said: ”Our operations in Nigeria, particularly clearing our goods from the seaport is where our major challenges are. The charges, especially the terminal charges and handling charges, are so expensive.

    “We do an open door policy in business where all these things are not been encouraged at the seaports in Nigeria.

    “From experience, we have found out that there are a lot of hidden charges.

    “After you have given your client quotation, you still incur a lot of hidden charges, charges that are not receipted, so, you can’t claim it back from your clients so with that, if the government can help us in standardising this process so that all those things can be eliminated, I think we should be fine,” he added.