The Nation Newspaper

Category: Aviation

  • Govt committed to cities’growth

    The Federal Government has expressed its commitment to the development of the aviation sector through the creation of airport cities as centres of economic growth with the aerotropolis concept.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Aviation Reforms, Ms Anne Ene-Ita, stated the readiness of the Federal Government in a message she delivered on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan at the Airport Cities (Aerotropoli) Conference, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    The government, Jonathan said, is set to position the sector as a catalyst for the growth of key economic sectors, such as travel, tourism, agriculture, rural development, trade, commerce, manufacturing and communications technology; with all of the attendant infrastructure development critical to sustainable growth of any economy.

    She said the aerotropolis Nigeria, specifically targets a diversification of the economy through increased economic activity, technology transfer, increased trade through global partnerships, value chain development and rural transformation.

    These, he said, would come handy, especially in exploiting the country’s agro-export opportunities, employment potential, new business development and private sector investment, both local and foreign.

    The President said: “The Federal Government of Nigeria remains fully committed, in partnership with the private sector to transform Nigeria into the foremost investment destination in Africa with well connected, economically efficient; offering sustainable, secure and attractive returns on investment.”

    “We are committed to supporting private sector-driven Aerotropoli to rapidly become the commercial nexus, anchoring aviation-enabled trade in goods and services; and driving business development from the aerotropolis to neighboring cities, towns and the entire West African region”, the President declared.

     

    Meanwhile, potential investors attending the Aerotropolis Conference have continued to flock to the Nigeria Aerotropolis Exhibition Pavillion making enquiries on the business opportunities which the project portends for both local and foreign investors. They have generally showed huge interest in the projects and are receiving very useful information from the Ministry of Aviation officials who are readily on hand.

    The Airport Cities Conference (Aerotropolis) Johannesburg, South Africa 2013 has provided a veritable platform for potential investors, aviation stakeholders and the general business community to brainstorm, exchange ideas and develop contacts for the enhancement of the new airport cities concept.

    Nigeria’s delegation is led by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Aviation Reform, Ms Anne Ene-Ita.

    Other key members of the delegation include the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr George Ossi, the Managing Director of FAAN Mr. George Uriesi, amongst others.

     

  • Stakeholders fret over plans to amend Aviation Act

    Stakeholders fret over plans to amend Aviation Act

    •NCAA’s autonomy intact, says ministry

    Stakeholders have called on the National Assembly to exercise caution in its planned amendment of some sections of the 2006 Civil Aviation Act, granting autonomy in regulation to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    According to industry players, a revision of the act may affect NCAA’s autonomy. They raised concerns over plans to tinker with some sections of the act, which may reduce NCAA’s powers, thereby bringing about laxity in the oversight duties of the authority.

    The Ministry of Aviation has denied plans to remove NCAA’s autonomy, affirming that the authority has been given free hands in line with the provisions of the 2006 Act to carry out its oversight duties.

    Media assistant to the Minister of Aviation, Mr Joe Obi said: “There is no truth in information making the round that there are attempts by the Ministry of Aviation to strip the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of its autonomy and removing the responsibility of issuing Air Operator Certificates from the Regulatory agency.

    “The ministry places very high premium on the autonomy of the NCAA as the regulator of the sector and will not do anything wittingly or unwittingly to whittle down its powers. In fact, the new Aviation Policy that is currently being fashioned out is intended to strengthen the NCAA to place it in good stead to perform its regulatory functions as well as safeguard its autonomy.”

    In a position paper , the Airline Operators of Nigeria( AON), the umbrella body of domestic carriers speaking through its Secretary-General, Captain Mohammed Joji, said nothing was wrong with the Civil Aviation Act, adding that tinkering with some of its provisions may have ripple effects in the industry.

    Joji said: ”The proposed Civil Aviation Act, as it were, is a new document. It is still extant, serves as the basis of various Civil Aviation Regulations, which underpins aviation business in the country.

    “While time and developments have thrown up new issues demanding attention, particularly in economic regulation and consumer protection, the Act is modern and in no way defective.

    “Only a few years ago (2007 – 2008), the Act was evaluated by both ICAO, FAA and other such world bodies and was confirmed to be in tandem with global standards and best practices. Therefore, what is required is only Amendments rather than a new Act.”

    Besides, he said the existing non-defective one is even more confusing as it is not as encompassing as the extant Act.

    He said the question to ask is: “What is wrong with the Act that the Proposed Act is seeking to replace?”

    He said: “The Proposed Act is by standard; content, depth, and coverage, inferior to the existing Act. Rather than strengthen the regulatory body, it further tends to weaken it by not only removing some of its functions, but also eroding its autonomy by surreptitiously narrowing the insular corridor between it and the ministry.

    “This will move us many steps back in the global aviation community.”

    The AON scribe alleged that the proposed act seeks to hijack the responsibility of economic regulation of airlines from the NCAA and hand it over to the Ministry of Aviation.

    He said: ”Unless the Ministry intends to create another agency to handle economic regulations and related issues, which will run contrary to the Act, the present Act should be amended to the ill-advised Proposed Act of 2013.

    “It is better to move our country forward rather than to regress. Power of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to regulate the industry must be upheld in order to move the industry forward.”

    The law, which is an Act of parliament gives power to NCAA to regulate the industry. In so doing, the regulatory authority published two fundamental guiding documents, which can be amended periodically by the operators and other stake holders and the NCAA vide seminar, under what is called Proposed Notice of Amendment (PNA). The initial publication is called Proposed Notice of Rules making (PNR).

    He said: “It is also our humble opinion that there is nothing wrong with the 2006 Act, since most of the recent feats achieved by the Aviation industry were as a result of the adequate provisions contained in the Act. We however, do not object to an amendment of the existing Act to take care of identified flows, provided all stake holders shall be consulted for input during the amendment exercise.”

  • Experts: African airlines may die by 2050

    Experts in the aviation industry have raised the alarm over the possibility of carriers facing extinction by 2050 because of their inability to merge.

    They predicted that by 2050, only 12 airlines would remain in operations in the globe.

    The experts spoke at the Nigeria Aviation Summit in Lagos last weekend.

    They affirmed that though merger and consolidation have gained ground in the global aviation industry, airlines in the continent are still foot-dragging on the arrangement, which commenced in United States of America, in 1930.

    The convener of the event, Mr Gabriel Olowo, in his speech entitled, A dozen world airliners by 2050, emphasised that Nigerian and African airlines face trouble if they do not embrace mergers and consolidation.

    He explained that the revenues of the three biggest airlines in the continent, Kenyan Airways, Ethiopian and South African Airways, put at over $3billion are about 35 per cent of the yearly revenue of Emirates Airlines.

    He added that efforts to ensure merger and consolidation among the continent’s carrier had failed in the past, adding that mergers or consolidation could not be achieved by government coercion.

    He lamented the precarious situation of the airlines, saying that there are only 57 aircraft in the fleet of the carriers while an airline, such as South African Airways has over 67 aircraft.

    He said: “Nigerian airlines are at the bottom level of success. The six airlines that we have in operations are in the lowest rung of the ladder in terms of revenue, service delivery and good business model.

    “Business climate is shifting from the West to Africa, when that shift comes, the continent’s carrier may be caught napping.”

    Dr. Tony Kila, one of the speakers at the event, noted that for the continent’s carriers to remain in operations by 2050, they need to engage in training of their manpower.

    The former president of the National Association of Nigerian Travelling Agencies, NANTA, Mr Soji Amusan, emphasised that customer satisfaction, quality services, productivity, profit and cost control would not happen by themselves, but the stakeholders in the industry would have to make them happen.

  • Passengers decry ‘illegal’ luggage checks

    There was drama at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos at the weekend as some passengers that arrived from New York on Arik Air flight expressed dissatisfaction over how their luggage were forced open.

    The passengers alleged that most of their valuables were missing from the luggage, raising concerns over possibility of alleged pilferage.

    The unfolding drama drew the attention of security agencies, including operatives of State Security Services(SSS), to carry out investigations, which caused the affected bags to be weighed to ascertain the veracity of allegation by the passengers on the Arik Air flight.

    After investigations, it was discovered on closer examination that New York Airport Security officials left acknowledgment notes on the opened bags after they carried out the routine checks.

    The investigations by security agencies also revealed that the bags were opened at the point of departure of the flight, and not at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos as insinuated by the passengers.

    The discovery by the security operatives’ however’ doused the tension created by the allegation of luggage pilferage by the passengers .

    A source at the airport said about the incident: ”Some passengers aboard Arik Air that arrived at the weekend from New York were unhappy over how their luggage were opened and most of their valuables missing.”

     

     

    This generated tension in the arrival hall. To douse the tension security operatives especially state security services insisted that the affected bags be weighed to ascertain the veracity of the allegations by the passengers.

    When this was done, it was discovered that the weight of the bags remained the same and closer examination revealed acknowledged note from New York Security , that they open the bags as routine security checks .

    This doused the tension . Let it be known that this happened at the point of departure .”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Overhaul NCAT, former Minister urges

    Former aviation Minister in the Second Republic, Samuel Mafuyai, has called on the Federal Government to overhaul the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, to enable the institution to have adequate capacity for training.

    He said more investment in the institution would reposition Nigeria as a leader in the training of personnel in Africa and across the world.

    Mafuyai said more investment in the institution is one way the government can address the challenges of manpower in the sector.

    He said if NCAT is supported with modern facilities, it could assist in churning out more pilots, air traffic controllers,aircraft maintenance engineers and other personnel needed in the sector.

    He said in the 1970s, the college was at its zenith, when it produced the first female pilot, Captain Chinyere Kalu, who is the Rector of the college.

    Mafuyai said one way the gains of the on-going airport remodelling project could be consolidated, is for the government to upgrade facilities at the college.

    He canvassed the establishment of a national carrier by the government to fly the nation’s flag, adding that Nigeria deserves a big airline that could fly its flag accross the world.

    Mafuyai, who served under the Shagari administration, explained that having a national carrier is one way of consolidating the airport on-going airport remodelling, where over 11 terminals have been reworked.

    ‘’My appeal to the government is to do something more for that institution in Zaria, to make it a reference point in aviation training in Africa.

    ‘’Why can’t we do more for the college to become a foremost training ground in Africa,” he argued.

    He urged critics to close ranks to help in developing the industry.

    He said the massive airport remodelling going on the country shows that the government is considering positioning the sector for economic development.

    The former minister inspected facilities at the new domestic terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    He said the determination of the minister of aviation to turn around 11 airports shows that Nigeria is ready to be part of the global aviation community, adding that the quality of the terminals compares with others abroad.

    He said: ‘’The Federal Government needs to set up a national carrier, that the people could be proud of.

    ‘’That is the only way Nigeria could redeem its image as a big player in the global community. With all these efforts to remodel our airports, it will be better to have a strong carrier that could the nation’s flag, ‘’ he added.

     

  • NCAA gives domestic operators deadline

    NCAA gives domestic operators deadline

    omestic airline operators have been given a two-week deadline to automate their operations to ensure data capture for billing in the authority’s revenue collection.

    The Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Joyce Daniel Nkemakolam, gave the directive at a meeting in Lagos last week. He warned charter operators against non-compliance.

    Nkemakolam has also read the riot act to foreign airlines, for their inability to comply with the new revenue automation regime of the regulatory authority.

    According to NCAA’s regulations on revenue collection, the operating airlines are to forward data at the end of every flight to the regulatory authority at the shortest possible time.

    These data are forwarded using NCAA’s AVITECH, Aviation Technology, the contracting firm handling the automation Portal, for easy and transparent transaction to facilitate appropriate billing for the Ticket Sales Charge and Cargo Sales Charge (TSC and CSC).

    The data required by NCAA/AVITECH for billing covers the following: Flight number, flight date, ticket number, ticket class, flight route, originating country, currency of sale, basic fare, security tax, airport tax, total fare and rate of exchange.

     

     

     

  • ‘Aerotropolis panacea for economic devt’

    If the aviation sector must serve as a catalyst for economic development, then Nigerians must embrace the establishment of airport cities or aerotropolis as drivers of economic activity, the General Manager, Corporate Communication, Mr Yakubu Dati, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has said.

    He said the authority is working hard on how to actualise the aerotropolis project, aimed at building cities around the airport to stimulate economic and business activities, including distribution, retail outlets, hospitality and other support services, in the area.

    Dati told The Nation that the authority is networking with players in the private sector to attract investment into the sector, which will turn boost creation of jobs.

    An aerotropolis, Dati explained, is an urban plan in which the layouts, infrastructure and economy is centred on an airport.

    He said though the concept is new in Nigeria, it is part of measures by the government to foster airport-driven development, where the airport would be connected to suppliers, customers and others abroad.

    Dati said: ‘’The aerotropolis will encompass a range of commercial facilities supporting both aviation-linked business and the millions of air travellers who pass through the airport annually.

    ‘’When this is in place, you will see an increasing number of businesses and commercial cluster around the airport, which would make the airport a place where air travellers and other members of society work exchange knowledge, conduct business and be entertained.”

    FAAN, he said, is working on the initiative by the Ministry of Aviation to attract investors into the sector.

    The Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi, said last month that the authority was working out a new plan for investors. According to the FAAN boss, a team has been sent to China to work out the terms of engagement with potential investors, who will build five airport terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu.

     

    This was a follow up to the investment roadshow embarked upon last year by the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, to enlighten the international community of the benefits of the project to the economy.

    The Ministry of Aviation and FAAN are creating investment opportunities for local and international investors at the airports.

    Plans by the Federal Government to develop airport cities nationwide are expected to attract foreign investments into the sector, in many aeronautical and non-aeronautical businesses.

    To achieve the objective, officials of the ministry and its agencies, including FAAN, have been strategising on how to engage potential investors.

    Last week, a source said officials of the ministry and FAAN were carrying out feasibility studies in areas of interest, as well as countries where investors could come in.

    The countries include China, Canada and the United States.

    The team has put in a place a working group, it was learnt.

    Majority of the investors government is seeking are business people who will take up concessions, lease rentals and ancillary services.

    Part of the line of investment, it was learnt, include aviation catering services, aircraft repairs and avionics services, and others.

    The government has earmarked Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt as some cities the aerotropolis initiative would be kicked off, a source said.

    At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the construction of a new terminal under private sector arrangement, with a Chinese Consortium, expected to lead the pack of investors, will create another airport city around the bustling centre.

    Part of the investment expected from Europe include an aircraft maintenance facility to be facilitated by Lufthansa Technik, which is supposed to be a hub in West and Central Africa.

    In Port Harcourt, FAAN, it was learnt, is seeking to engage the Rivers State Government on how it could buy into the new Port Harcourt City, on a road leading to the international terminal at Omagwa.

    It is expected to serve the bustling oil and gas activities in the Niger Delta Region, expected to attract more foreign airlines.

    Already, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa Airlines fly from Port Harcourt, to their base in London and Frankfurt in Germany.

    Other areas where investments are expected from are United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which airlines are already strategising to have the edge as they propose flights into Mallam Aminu International Airport, Kano.

    On the project, the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, said the ministry was looking for investors.

    “What the government is actually looking for is contractor-financed investors who can finance the projects while the government provides the enabling environment. We are looking for investors that can have joint ventures with our local, indigenous companies where together, they can contractor-finance the various projects,” she said.

    She stressed that under the new arrangement, investors would be required to look at the investment baskets, where the various investment opportunities are domiciled and clearly documented, from which they can pull out those they have appetite for to invest in.

     

     

    She assured potential investors of policy stability and consistency, adding that the government would continually encourage both foreign and local investors.

  • Etihad Cargo broadens network

    Etihad Cargo broadens network

    Etihad Cargo has added Washington DC to its global cargo network, in addition to boosting frequency to Hong Kong courtesy of its strategic partner Air Seychelles.

    The United States capital is Etihad Cargo’s fifth destination in North America, while Hong Kong is already part of the carrier’s five-destination Greater China cargo network.

    The news follows the launch of passenger services from Abu Dhabi to both cities in recent weeks. Etihad Airways started direct services to Washington D.C. last month and Air Seychelles, in which Etihad Airways owns a 40 per cent stake, initiated services to Hong Kong via Abu Dhabi.

    Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at Etihad Airways, Kevin Knight, said: “Our cargo network continues to expand and with the addition of bellyhold capacity to Washington D.C. and anoverall increase in cargo capacity to Hong Kong, we believe these new operations will strengthen cargo services both east and west for our customers.”

    Etihad Airways has deployed an Airbus A340-500 aircraft to operate the daily Abu Dhabi-Washington D.C. route, while Air Seychelles has scheduled its Airbus A330-200 aircraft to fly the three times a week service between the Indian ocean archipelago and Hong Kong.

    Etihad Cargo offers daily bellyhold cargo capacity from Chicago and New York to Abu Dhabi, and three times a week from Toronto to Abu Dhabi. In addition, Etihad Cargo offers a twice-weekly freighter service from Houston to the UAE capital.

    The additional bellyhold capacity offered by Air Seychelles’ new service between Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong will strengthen the already established four-times-a-week Etihad Cargo freighter service between the two cities.

    At present Etihad Cargo offers both bellyhold and full freighter capacity to Beijing and Shanghai, bellyhold capacity to Chengdu, and a freighter operation to Guangzhou.

    Etihad Cargo serves 86 destinations internationally and operates a fleet of two Boeing B777F,one Boeing 747-400ERF, one Boeing 747-400F, two Airbus A330-200F and one Airbus A300-600F. To ensure capacity stays ahead of demand, Etihad Cargo will take delivery of threeadditional freighters in 2013 and 2014, comprising one Boeing B777F, and two Airbus A330-200F.

  • Unions issue ultimatum

    THE Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) have given a 10-day ultimatum to the management of Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo Akwa Ibom to improve the conditions of service of their members at the airport or face a showdown.

    They gave the ultimatum in a letter dated April 15, addressed to the Managing Director and Chief Eexecutive Officer, Ibom Airport Development Company Limited, Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo.

    It was signed by Mr Abioye Olayinka, the Acting Secretary General of ATSSSAN and Mr Abdulkareem Motajo, the Acting Secretary General of NUATE .

    The unions accused the leadership of the airport management of failure to embrace dialogue in resolving the problems of the welfare of their staff who are members of the unions.

    “Your management chose to deliberately ignore our calls and thereby prompting us to do the needful in accordance with extant rules,” the letter stated.

     

    The unions said that they could no longer allow their members to suffer continued frustration, deprivation and anguish.

    This is coming when we understand that the Governor of the state has continued to initiate friendly policies which the airport’s management had been denying the workers,’’ the memorandum said.

    “Do please be duly put on notice that if by 12.00 hours on 25th April, 2013 , our demands are not met, our Unions shall have no other choice than to give further directives to our members in your organisations in line with trade unions rules,” the memorandum stated.

    The unions also sent copies of the memorandum to various airlines, security agencies and the Minister of Labour and Productivity

     

  • NAHCO upgrades training centre

    Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (nahco aviance) has announced the upgrading of its training centre to a world class International Air Transport Association (IATA) certified learning and development centre.

    The newly designed L&D Centre, according to a statement, has state-of-the-art facilities, such as a syndicate room, main training room, e-learning, e-library, e-centre VIP lounge and a functional website. The centre will help to facilitate online recruitment tests/exams, competencies tests/ assessment.

    The statement further said the centre will offer the industry the much-desired training support, especially in ground handling competencies, through its 34–day intensive training programme in ramp and cargo operations as well as passenger services.

    It will also offer industry standard compliance or mandatory trainings, such as aviation security personnel training, searching and screening techniques, cargo screening, access control, documentation and passenger handling training, among others.