The Nation Newspaper

Category: Aviation

  • ‘Cargo will transform economy’

    The Federal Government said it plans to make Nigeria a leading exporter of agricultural produce, through the nation’s airports, in line with the transformation agenda for the aviation industry.

    Director of the Cargo Develop-ment, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Rowland Ofulue, stated this after a meeting with the representatives of international cargo airlines and members of the Association of Foreign Airlines Representatives.

    The airlines include Qatar Airline, Saudi Arabian Airline, Emirates, Kenya Airways, Cargolux Airline, Landover, Air France, KLM and Alitalia. Others were Base Aviation, Delta Airline, DHL and Fedex.

    He added that the creation of a new directorate of cargo development in FAAN was among several strategies adopted by the Federal Government to steer the nation from being an oil and gas dependent economy to a multi-pronged economy that will create more jobs for Nigerians.

    He said the new directorate was poised to create an enabling environment that would boost cargo development at major Nigerian airports, where more emphasis had been laid on passenger movements and other related businesses.

    Ofulue informed the group that the Federal Government had concluded plans to build new cargo terminals in 12 airports in the country and invited them to take advantage of this huge investment to contribute to the growth of the country’s economy, through increased air cargo operation.

    He also said an agro allied economy would evolve from the development of the cargo terminals being planned nationwide, adding that a lot of perishable food items that are produced in this country could be exported through our airports as it is done in neighbouring countries that rely on such export for the sustenance of their economies.

    Ofulue later called for the support of the association in checking unwholesome practices in cargo business which are against international standards and practices.

    Members of the association promised to work with FAAN to achieve the transformation of the nation’s economy through enhanced cargo operations.

  • Oduah lists priorities of 2013 budget

    Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, has said the ministry will next year focus on improving and consolidating on going efforts at infrastructure upgrade as well as the certification of airports in the country in accordance with the standards of international civil aviation organisation (ICAO).

    Oduah, who spoke during her presentation of the 2013 budget to the senate committee on aviation, said it is unacceptable that some airports in the country are certified.

    To achieve certification for the nation’s airports, the Minister said their effort at reconstruction and remodelling of the airports would be consolidated and improved upon in the 2013 fiscal year, especially with regard to the provision of safety critical infrastructure.

    Areas that would receive priority attention include Landing instruments, security and communication infrastructure, water hydrants, fire fighting vehicles, airfield lighting and interrupted, 24-hour electricity supply.

    Others include equipment for the control and prevention of bird strikes, conveyor belts, functional air-conditioning systems for the remodelled terminals, Avio bridges, sufficient apron buses to halt the risky practice whereby passengers walk through the tarmacs to board aircraft, Welfare buses for aviation workers to alleviate their hardship in terms of transportation to and from work, amongst others.

    She stated that the infrastructure upgrade is beside the construction of five new international airport terminals and several perishable and cargo terminals in the nation’s airport.

    “The aim of all these projects is to modernise our airports, gradually phase out all obsolete equipment and infrastructure and bring our airports to international standards and best practices. This is the only way we can get our airports to be certified”, Oduah declared.

    Also Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said it is “very sad that most of our airports are not certified in accordance with ICAO standards. We must, therefore, do everything possible to get them certified.”

    He said other areas which deserve serious attention; and upon which the government must find a way to fund in the 2013 budget is capacity building and training of professionals/experts by the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), airfield lighting as well the maintenance of the runways.

  • Fed Govt, Brazilian firm partner

    The Federal Government and Embraer, Brazil, have agreed to collaborate to facilitate government’s effort to assist domestic airlines acquire new aircraft.

    This is the outcome of preliminary talks opened in S.J. Dos Campos, the headquarters of Embraer in Brazil, on the subject matter by representatives of the Federal Ministry of Aviation led by the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Ureisi and Embraer led by the Senior Vice President Operations/Chief Operating Officer, Mr Luis Carlos Affonso.

    Ureisi told the Embraer executives that the Federal Government has altered its strategy for the development of the aviation sector to domestic airlines by its intention to assist them increase their fleet with new aircraft from reputable manufacturers.

    He emphasised the need for the use of aircraft by domestic operators, hence the need for the government to intervene in the acquisition of aircraft that are efficient.

    “Domestic carriers use wrong equipment for most of their operations. There is no established record of sustainability for these airlines mainly because of the use of wrong equipment. Intervention fund by the Federal Government in the past to assist them re-fleet has failed because there was no evidence of the money being ploughed back into the airlines leading to them failing in the long run.

    “The government wants to change this model entirely by floating a fund for the acquisition of new aircraft for the domestic carriers. In this regard, the government is seeking a partnership with Embraer that would lead to a discussion on how these new aircraft would be procured at very competitive, fair, and concessionary rates,” Ureisi told his hosts.

  • Terrorism: Demuren seeks more scrutiny for cargoes

    To stem terrorism in aviation, cargo operations should be given serious surveillance, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, has said.

    Demuren, who was represented by NCAA’s Director of Aero-medical Services, Theressa Bassey, spoke at the Air Cargo Security and Safety Breakfast Meeting organised by Aero Consult Limited in Lagos.

    He, however, said the government was addressing the problem to ensure safety.

    Demuren said since the volume of cargoes on passengers’aircraft has increased, there was the need by the authorities at the airports to adopt counter measures to make it difficult for terrorists to access passengers.

    Also, the President, the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN), Mr Kingsley Nwokoma, has decried inadequate security at the airports, especially in restricted areas.

    He explained that the security personnel were inadequate to monitor restricted areas, such as the airsides, adding that most touts break walls to gain access to the airports.

    Nwokoma challenged the government to increase security at the airports to safeguard goods and cargoes.

    The Chairman of Aviation Round Table (ART), Dele Ore, also said to prevent terrorists from putting explosives on the aircraft, there was the need to use the cargo screening technologies aimed at detecting explosives.

    He said in addition to a cargo screening technology, a cargo container technology is being considered to mitigate the threat of explosion or fire that finds its way to an aircraft undetected.

    Meanwhile, Demuren has identified the dearth of adequate personnel and insufficient training to meet industry’s demand as some of the major challenges affecting the growth and development of the global aviation industry.

    Besides, he noted that statistics have shown that in the next 20 years, more than a million pilots, engineers, technicians, cabin crew and air traffic controllers would be required to keep the global aviation industry running.

    The NCAA boss disclosed these at the Women in Aviation annual conference in Lagos.

    He explained that if the aviation industry must remain the safest and most desired means of transportation, efforts must be made to fix the gap in manpower need as a large percentage of the available skilled aviation professionals is ageing and would soon retire from service.

    Demuren noted that the demand for skilled professionals would exceed supply in the future because of the wholesale retirements in the generation of professionals, as well as unattractive nature of professions to potential candidates.

    He listed other factors that may shape developments in the sector to include competition with other industry sectors for skilled employees, and training capacity, which he noted is insufficient to meet demand.

    The NCAA boss said statistics reveal that a major percentage of skilled professionals in Nigeria are above 50, raising fresh concerns that if the dearth of professionals was not addressed, it could have negative impact on the industry.

  • ‘BA’s investment programme delivering customer benefits’

    With just two years into a five-year £5 billion programme of investments, British Airways has already reached some significant milestones, chief executive, Keith Williams, has said.

    He told customers in Lagos that the airline has expanded its network, which now includes new African routes.

    Besides, he said BA is acquiring new aircraft, enhancing products and introducing innovative technology to better serve its customers.

    “As a result of acquiring bmi, British Airways now serves 19 routes in 16 African countries. It flies more often to more places in Africa than it has ever done since it first opened routes to the continent 80 years ago.

    “The acquisition also enabled it to grow its overall route network, giving customers access to 20 more destinations. British Airways is now operating the biggest Heathrow schedule in its history. Together with its franchise, codeshare and oneworld partners it offers a global network of over 600 destinations,” he added.

    Williams said that new aircraft, such as the Boeing 777 ER are comingonto the fleet, embodied with new World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins and a sophisticated in-flight entertainment system which offers nearly double the previous choice.

    “We are making improvements in every cabin. The rollout of our new First is nearly complete. Bringing together balanced privacy, comfort, space and contemporary British design, it draws on the airline’s heritage, focusing on quality and attention to detail,’’ he said.

    In May 2013, he said BA will take delivery of our first Boeing 787 Dreamliner and two months later, its first A380 superjumbo. “These new aircraft will enable us to further develop and grow our net

    work, achieve considerable fuel savings compared to the aircraft they replace, and bring the outstanding 777-300 levels of customer comfort to a wider audience,” he said.

    More than a million customers have now downloaded British Airways apps, which make the check-in process faster and more convenient. A feature for iPhone users now also enables them to book their flights from their phone.

    The Nigerian market is such an important one for British Airways that we are pleased to offer our new OnBusiness members in Nigeria a welcome gift of 1,000 OnBusiness points if you join before November 30.

    “Nigeria was the first market outside of the UK where we launched our new advertising campaign: To Fly.To Serve. Through our programme of investments and product and service enhancements we’re making that brand promise a reality,” said Williams.

  • Minister denies ethnic charge

    Minister denies ethnic charge

    Does the Minister of Aviation Princess Stella Oduah have anything against the North?

    No, she says, pointing out that the North has benefited more from the ongoing transformation of the sector under her.

    Princess Oduah, who spoke through her Special Assistant on Media, Mr Joe Obi, said the first projects embarked on and inaugurated by the minister are located in the North, wondering where the allegation of marginalisation was coming from.

    “Let me state that the North is not marginalised. In fact, I have to state clearly here that the North has benefited most from this transformation. We started by inauguration of the Hajj Terminal in Kano and Kaduna. These were the first projects that were commenced and inaugurated by the minister,” he said.

    On the state airports, Obi said the vision of the ministry is to encourage states that can build airports to do so.

    He said: “The vision of the minister of aviation is for Nigeria to have access to airports even as close as possible anywhere they reside. Airports, as you know, are economic hubs and anywhere you have airports, they help to improve and develop the economy of any nation.

    “Our vision is to encourage states that are viable to come up with airports. We recently had Jigawa State indicating interest to build another airport and the ministry is solidly behind them. Any state that has the resources and they think they can manage an airport, this will make airport, airport facilities and airlines more accessible to Nigerians and it will also help to boost the Nigerian economy”.

    On the denial of right to some foreign airlines to enter the Kano and other parts of the North, Obi reiterated that the minister did not deny Turkish and others approval to fly into Kano, adding that approval has been given and that it is the airline that is delaying the commencement of operations.

  • Senate panel urges govt to support local airlines

    Senate panel urges govt to support local airlines

    CHAIRMAN of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has urged the government to encourage indigeneous airline operators.

    According to him, such incentives would save Nigerians from the prohibitive fares charged by foreign airlines.

    It will also position indigeneous carriers to exploit the benefits accruing from the bilateral air servives agreements.

    Uzodinma spoke when his committee visited Arik Air corporate office in Ikeja, Lagos.

    The lawmakers arrived the Arik Air premises after a tour of the remodelled General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, the airport power improvement project site as well as that of the total radar coverage of Nigeria.

    Speaking to reporters after the tour, Uzodima explained that the visit was part of the oversight functions of the committee to ascertain compliance with budgets and ongoing projects of aviation agencies.

    So far, he explained that the committee has observed some projects in the sector, which need to be improved on to enhance improved public perception.

    Arik Air Managing Director, Mr Chris Ndulue, spoke on the airline’s activities, including its network and aircraft fleet, and how the carrier has raised the stakes of air travel in Nigeria, West Africa and the continent.

    He told the committee of the airline’s plans to emerge as the number one carrier in Nigeria

    This year, he said, the airline plans to fly more passengers than it did last year.

    Ndulue listed the achievements of Arik Air to include the International Air Transport Association (IATA), certification for its operations in addition to being the biggest player in the domestic scene of aviation in Nigeria.

    About two months ago, the airline, he said, hit the 10 millionth passenger mark since it began operations.

    Arik Air, he said, is the second airline in the world that has a modern control centre in Lagos, a feat that has only been achieved by Emirates Airlines in the Gulf Region.

    He listed the challenges of the airline to include the remodelling of the old domestic terminal at the domestic wing of the Lagos Airport, adding that it has impacted on its operations.

    He expressed optimism that the early completion of the terminal would boost the operations of the carrier, adding that plans are afoot to build a hub in Abuja.

  • SAHCOL to establish training school

    Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) said it would establish a training school for cargo and passengers’handlers.

    SAHCOL’s Managing Director, Mr Olu Owolabi, spoke during the presentation of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Safety Audit for Crew Operations (ISAGO) certificate by Miss Adefunke Adeyemi, the Southwest African Area Manager of IATA in Lagos.

    He explained that SAHCOL was working with IATA for the take-off of the school.

    “ There, we will be training our staff, staff members from other airlines on ground handling and passengers’handling and become more relevant within the industry,” he said.

    He expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Civl Aviation Athority (NCAA) for giving SAHCOL the approval to establish the proposed school.

    He added that a lot of money is being spent on the project and would be among the best on completion.

    Owolabi also said the management also approved SAHCOL’s proposed corporate headquarters’design.

  • Towards first class airports

    Every successful manager, aspiring manager or student of management holds these words of Peter Drucker sacred: “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things”. Drucker, one of the greatest thinkers on Management, opined that one of the key points of succeeding in an organisation is by the need to manage business by balancing a variety of needs and goals, rather than subordinating an institution to a single value. This is what George Uriesi’s style is all about at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN), not subordinating the institution to a single value but to a robust and dynamic framework within the transformation agenda of the Aviation Minister Princess Stella Oduah, and President Goodluck Jonathan

    Uriesi is not new to this terrain; he has put in several aerona miles into aviation business with over 20 years experience. In 2004 , he was appointed General Manager of Cape Town International Airport and he led the massive transformation of the airport in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament, while establishing it as the top international award winning airport in Africa. That job prepared him for his stewardship at FAAN.

    When Princess Oduah assumed office she embarked on a search for an effective hand to run FAAN and she found Uriesi. If she was looking for someone who understood the industry and the urgency for a radical turnaround, Uriesi was the one; he was brimming with passion and raring to go. If experience and technical knowledge were the a criterion he had them in abundance. Most importantly if understanding the mission was an advantage, he had an overriding desire to surpass his success story in South Africa. Armed with the Aviation Master Plan, his first assignment was to key into Princess Oduah’s vision with the reconstruction of 11 airport terminals. From Lagos to Yola, Abuja to Port Harcourt, Owerri to Jos, Kano to Enugu, Calabar to Kaduna, Minna to Sokoto, the aviation industry was taken by storm. The speed and quality of work were unprecedented. The prudence in application of resources was legendary. He ensured that salaries were paid before the end of the month, a far cry from the previous practice where workers were owed. During the inauguration of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja Lagos Terminal 1, popularly known as GAT, he took the nation by storm when he announced that the world-class airport terminal being opened by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim was built under 10 months for N648 million!

    With a strong support from the Minister of Aviation, he took on the powerful interests industry who had overtime strangulated the industry. He enforced the sacking of concessionaires who refused to leave even when their contract was terminated by previous Ministers.

    From then on he was marked “enemy No 1”. Unperturbed, he has taken on perennial debtors of his organisation. Driven by the mission that development of airport infrastructure is not just an economic necessity but central to strategic objectives, Uriesi remains focused in his vision for FAAN to be among the best airport groups in the world. The verdict of the Federal High Court in Lagos, freeing him of the contempt charges brought against him by a firm Maevis, which got contract for toll collection at the airport, brought relief to FAAN. Few men will stand to be counted when faced with the threat of prison conviction. He stood. This victory is symbolic. It’s a refreshing departure from the past. The judgment has come and gone but the impact is reverberating across the aviation community.

    •Yakubu Dati , General Manager (Corporate Communications, FAAN)

  • SAHCOL, Medview collaborate

    The Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) has been picked to provide ground handling services to Medview Airline’s Domestic Operations.

    By this deal, SAHCOL shall be providing Ramp and Passenger Handling Services to Med-view Airline in its flight operations in the country.

    SAHCOL has been partnering Medview in the provision of ground handling services in its Hajj operations.

    Chairman of SAHCOL, Dr.Taiwo Afolabi, at the take-over of SAHCOL from the Federal Government in December 2009, promised to invest in personnel development, state-of-the-art equipment, fleet replacement, and infrastructure.

    Less than three years later, these promises and much more has been fulfilled, which has helped tailored the company to meet the needs and expectations of its growing list of clientele.

    The activities of SAHCOL include passenger handling, ramp handling, cargo handling/warehousing, aviation security, baggage reconciliation, executive lounge, and other related ground handling services, while ensuring that ground handling assignment is carried out in an efficient, speedy and safe manner, by deploying the right tools and expertise.

    SAHCOL also provides ground handling services to Arik Air, the United /Continental Airline, Air France Cargo, Etihad Airways, Egypt Air, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Allied Air, Aero Contractors Airline, Dana Air, Sudan Air, African Open Sky Airlines, among others.

    Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited’s services are tailored towards meeting the needs and expectations of its growing list of clientele, which includes international scheduled and ad-hoc operators, and domestic airlines operating in/out of airports in Abuja, Lagos, Minna, Kaduna, Jos, Yola, Kano, Maiduguri, Sokoto, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri, Ilorin, Akure, Benin, Ibadan and Uyo.