Category: Aviation

The failure of aviation agencies to live up to their statutory responsibilities is drawing the ire of the National Assembly. During an oversight visit to the Lagos Airport last week, members of the Joint Committee on Aviation expressed concerns over congestion at terminals, inadequate technical personnel for safety critical jobs and other matters. KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR examines the impact of the oversight functions

These are not the best of times for operators and managers of aeronautical facilities in the aviation sector. Reason: The National Assembly Joint Committee on Aviation has passed a vote of no confidence on the performance of these players.

Specifically, the committee has called out the regulators – Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) – for failing to discharge their statutory functions efficiently.

In an interview during the visit, Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Smart Adeyemi, berated the NCAA for failing to whip domestic carriers in line for offering poor flights.

According to Adeyemi, local carriers in the last few months had failed to carry out timely departures at airports across the country, leaving many passengers stranded for either delayed or cancelled flights.

He said the carriers have even gone on undeterred, without any communication to the affected passengers, who have lost out in many business transactions due to failure to keep to their schedules.

He said the Senate Committee has received complaints from many passengers, but it appeared the NCAA is not doing enough to sanction such carriers.

Adeyemi said: “Nigerians are not happy with the way airlines operate in this country. Nigerians are at the mercy of the airline operators. You cannot predict your movement. People stay at the airports for five to six hours. If Nigerian airline operators cannot manage their fleet, it will not be out of place for us to ask foreign companies that are interested to run domestic operations.

“Today, you cannot predict your movement travelling with Nigerian airlines. At times if not for the security challenges, you would take your car and move. Somebody is staying at the airports for five to six hours and nobody is talking to you.

“The NCAA must rise to the occasion. I wouldn’t know the committee that you have set up, but we, as a parliament, the two chambers, are going to tell the government; we are going to set up our monitoring system and we are going to announce to the Nigerian people the airlines that are not worthy to fly because they are not reliable. If there is only one airline that is doing well, we will announce to the Nigerian people ‘this is the best airline that is flying.’

“If the domestic airlines can no longer perform their roles and meet their obligations to passengers we will ask them to pack up. If there are no airlines operating in Nigeria we will call for foreign airlines to come and operate in Nigeria.

“It has got to that point. We must take up the challenge; we will do our best; we will set up our own team, monitor them (airlines) week by week and give the statistics of airlines that have failed to meet their schedule.”

Also, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, called on the  NCAA to summon the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) as part of its oversight function over poor facilities such as the escalators, non-functional conveyor belts and congestion at the arrival hall of the domestic terminal.

“I believe right now things are not going well and the NCAA must own up to it. Sometimes escalators are not working and conveyor belts are not functioning.The local the terminal is so congested.”

NCAA Director-General, Captain Musa Nuhu complained of inadequate safety and airworthiness inspectors.

He said some inspectors trained by the NCAA abdicate duty to get jobs in the airlines where they are offered higher remuneration.

But, the committee faulted him, asking if there was no bonding for some years for the trained persons to account for the huge cost expended on their training before securing jobs in private organisations.

The Acting Managing Director of  Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr Mathew Lawrence Pwajok, clarified the  disadvantages of not having a primary radar system.

He called for the National Assembly’s intervention on the cost-intensive equipment as it would go a long way in checking illegal aircraft operations.

He  said the airspace managers have often come under criticism for not being able to see helicopters that do illegal activities in the country because they operate under secondary radar coverage without airborne equipment or transponders.

According to Pwajok, civil aviation uses secondary radar for coverage and the primary radar for the four international airports alone because of the power involved to keep the system up but that when operational, a primary radar has capabilities to detect flying objects whether it wants to be seen or not.

“The primary radar has the capacity to detect every flying object, whether it wants to be seen or not but unfortunately, it requires a whole lot of power and energy and all over the world, nobody can deploy a long range primary radar system. So for civil aviation they are deployed within very busy and complex airspace like Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.”

He,  however, explained that in 2008/09 when the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) was being done,the military was supposed to also have its own using the Primary radar system but cost made implementation almost impossible.

” The challenge of not having a primary radar system is a very serious one. We have had instances where we were accused of not being able to detect helicopters that do nefarious activities and we don’t have a defence because If they operate within 60 nautical miles of any of the four International airports, they will be detected, that I can assure you but any operation outside this, if they switch off that radar equipment, we cannot see the target.”

Nigerian Aviation Company (NAHCO) Plc has secured a contract to provide services for Qatar Airways at the Port Harcourt International and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airports.

The agreement, which takes effect from March 2022, according to a statement by the ground handling company came on the heels of the exceptional top-of-the-range handling services delivery by NAHCO Plc and will run for another five years.

Prince Saheed Lasisi, NAHCO Plc Group Executive Director, Commercial and Business Development, in announcing the development, described the feat as a reward for hard work and commitment on the part of the Management and Staff of NAHCO Plc.

He expressed excitement on the achievement, describing it as a boost for both companies.

READ ALSO: ‘NAHCON thinking out of the box with PPP’

“We are committed to maintaining our leadership position in the ground handling business, as such, we will not relent. The support from the Board of Directors has helped in no small measure, as new Ground Support Equipment is being made available to us for ease of operations. We are therefore primed to continue our excellent service delivery to Qatar Airways.”, he said.

NAHCO Plc currently has an all-encompassing contract with the airline in Lagos and Abuja, providing passenger, cargo, and ramp handling services to Qatar Airways, which also includes the provision of crew transportation and other ancillary services to the respected airliner.

The latest signings for Port Harcourt and Kano have brought the airlines fully under the cover of NAHCO Plc.

Santos Aviation Limited, providers of maintenance and interior refurbishing services for government and privately owned aircraft is set to host the first United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) repair station in Nigeria.

A statement by Engineer Segun Adesanya, General Manager of Santos Aviation, said the company will be putting together a diamond-studded lunch featuring FAA part 145 repair station.

According to Adesanya, the event billed for Thursday, February 24, 2022, will feature a keynote address by Capt Hans Kraus.

Adesanya said his agents and employees have professional and technical licenses issued by the US FAA to provide services on American manufactured and registered aircraft.

READ ALSO: Aviation: What’s sauce for the goose…

He listed services provided by Santos Aviation to include: aircraft /airline seat covers upgrade, carpet binding and surging, galleys, lavatory, panels and passengers storage unit.

Others include refurbishing and sewing services.

He said the aviation sector in the country has great potential for growth which will result in more job training for the youth.

Adesanya expected growth will provide significant opportunities for profitable joint venture relationships for public and private Nigerian entities.

He said the firm would be interested in cementing such joint venture relationships.

Delta Airlines is accelerating its efforts to build a more sustainable and people-first future for air travel.

From this week, the airline said it will refresh its onboard product offerings with artisan-made amenity kits, recycled bedding, reusable and biodegradable service ware and premium canned wine.

Together, the United States carrier said the products will reduce onboard single-use plastic consumption by approximately 4.3 million pounds per year – roughly the weight of 1,500 standard-sized cars – and will  significantly increase Delta Airlines’ support of minority- and women-run businesses.

“Decisions we make on every aspect of our product are opportunities to make good on two core promises: to deliver exceptional customer experiences and build a better future for people and our planet,” said Allison Ausband, Executive Vice President  and Chief Customer Experience Officer of the airline.

He added: “These latest additions deliver something unique to our customers, reduce our environmental impact and enable job creation for the communities we serve around the world.”

Over the past year, Delta Airlines has deepened its relationships with suppliers in key markets, which allows the airline to serve more locally sourced menu items, and introduced a beverage lineup that spotlights the first U.S. Black-owned distillery, Du Nord Social Spirits.

“Delta Airlines has always put people at the centre of everything we do,” said Amelia DeLuca, Vice President,  Sustainability.

“It’s this people-first focus that led Delta Airlines to source new products onboard that reduce waste, bolster diverse suppliers and build communities. We want to protect our planet and the people on it, and the products we provide onboard are the latest way we’re living out this commitment,” he said.

The airline is among the first to use 100 percent  recycled polyester (rPET) bedding and – combined with the new use of reusable bedding packaging – will reduce single-use plastic use by up to 260,000 pounds per year. The sets began appearing on board  last December.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is grappling with the challenge of attracting safety inspectors to overhaul its oversight duties.The inability of the civil aviation authority to compete financially with private carriers is becoming a huge hurdle in retaining such technical personnel. Proposals to reverse the trend have sparked a huge row among airline operators, KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR reports

The desire to attract the right technical personnel in achieving effective oversight of civil aviation is becoming work in progress.

Reason: only a well-motivated, highly trained and certified personnel in the relevant directorates in the civil aviation authority could enhance the pursuit of safety and robust discharge of civil aviation for airlines, ground handling firms, aviation fuel suppliers, airport authorities and other organisations in the aeronautical value chain.

To drive home this point, th e Director-General, NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, has in the last few months complained of the shortage of technical personnel in the authority to meet the  needs of the country.

Nuhu said as much the authority is working to block the gap in such technical personnel, the burden of its surveillance duties requires it to have young vibrant safety inspectors, who are pulling out of the authority because of its inadequate remuneration.

As an intervention, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has called on the Federal Government to remove the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) from the civil service structure to enable the agency to attract the right personnel to safeguard the aviation industry.

AON made the call in a letter to the Senate on January 19, 2022 and addressed to the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan and explained that the request was of safety concern to the industry.

The AON letter to the Senate was signed by its President, Alhaji Yunusa Abdulmunaf Sarina.

AON stated that the NCAA was established to regulate government policies in the industry and also enforce the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety standards and recommended practisces to ensure that the operators met the safety requirements.

But the agency would only be able to do this if it attracts the right personnel with sound technical know-how and to attract these special skills, it must be willing to offer these personnel attractive and competitive emoluments.

“To effectively carry out its important duties as highlighted above, the NCAA needs to attract and engage a team of technically sound professionals in virtually every field of aviation, notably flight operations, engineering, safety inspectors, dispatchers, cabin executives, among others, to conduct regular oversight of the industry.

“It is, however, sad to note that there is a growing level of deficiency within the NCAA in the area of human capacity due to its inability to attract and retain experienced industry professionals as a result of its inadequate recruitment and salary regime compared to the offers they get from working for the airlines,” AON said.

The operators told the Senate that because of this situation, many inspectors were leaving the NCAA and the few that remained were not well-motivated and hardly enough to meet the requirements of the industry, adding that the young personnel that are in the agency do not have the required experience.

AON stressed that this portends immediate danger to flight safety and  operations, as the few hands left were either too old and tired or were too inexperienced to undertake proper and adequate oversight functions over airlines’ operations.

The operators noted that no country allows its civil aviation authority salaries to be determined by civil service rules.

“AON would, therefore, like to use this medium to call on the National Assembly to review the establishment Act of the NCAA and to remove the agency from the civil service salary structure in order for the agency to be able to attract the urgently needed experts for the sake of safety,” AON urged.

A former Deputy General Secretary, AON and Chairman, Hudson Bay Aviation, Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, has lashed at Sarina over what he described as his meddlesomeness in the affairs of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The AON boss was reported to have written to the President of the Senate to request the removal of NCAA from the civil service to enable it to offer salaries that could attract experienced manpower to the authority and save it from the dearth of appropriate staff to oversee the aviation sector.

He advised Sarina to rather concentrate on building his airline that was just coming out of the authority’s hammer over safety concerns than raise unnecessary alarm to create panic and fear in the minds of the public.

Mohammed noted that NCAA has the most skilled and experienced manpower in the sub-region, which has enabled it to acquire the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category One status, adding that the country has laboured hard to build the regulatory authority to a global standard such that beginners like Alhaji Abdulmunaf should not be allowed to pull it down through unguarded statements.

“If the remuneration of the staff of the authority have become a contentious matter, it is not the duty of AON to champion the cause and if there was  the need for such input from the operators, there is an open channel of communication between the NCAA and the operators on one hand and the Ministry of Aviation.”

He said if the staff members were not being properly remunerated as propagated by AON chairman, the workers’union was the appropriate body, through its collective bargaining, to initiate dialogue with the management of the regulatory agency for salary review and not the business of airline operators.

Mohammed stated that he was not convinced that the AZMAN Airlines boss was speaking the mind of the members of AON, noting that the purported statement was self-indicting on the part of the operators as the they have by such letter admitted that they were not properly being over sighted by the authority for lack of manpower.

“This position also tends to imply that  aviation is not safe for investment. It is also likely to push up insurance premiums and the cost of aircraft lease among others,” he further stated.

While advising the Senate to ignore the so-called letter from Abdulmunaf, Tukur called for sanctions against those behind the purported letter from AON to the Senate.

Airports in Nigeria recorded a dip of 3.38 million passengers in the last three years, data from regulatory authorities reveal.

According to data obtained by The Nation from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), figures for passengers processed for travelling at the nation’s airports for 2021 stands at 14.2 million compared with the 10,447,321 for last year.

But in 2019, over 17,580,023 passengers according to the NCAA data processed flights through airports in Nigeria.

Investigations have shown that the significant dip in passenger load factor in the period under review  could be attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its debilitating effects on air travel at domestic, regional and intercontinental levels.

The significant dip in 2019 and 2020 figures translates to a difference of  7,147,303 , which experts say could be attributed to the effects of travel bans, lockdowns and other measures taken by the government to checkmate the spread of the raging COVID – 19 Pandemic.

Despite the  devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the Nigerian economy, air travel seems to be experiencing a rebound with  more than 14.2 million persons travelling by air  in 2021.

Records from the NCAA show  that the number of passengers on in -bound domestic flights were 5, 977, 927, while out-bound domestic flights were 6, 072, 337, making a total of 12, 050, 264.

In the same period, in-bound international flights carried 1, 086, 395 passengers and out-bound international flights conveyed 1, 112, 884, making a total of 2, 199, 279.

This made the total of both domestic and international passengers that were airlifted 14, 249, 543.

Apart from 2020, when there were no scheduled flight operations for about four months, the highest passenger traffic recorded in air travel in the past three  years was in 2019, averaging  17, 580, 023.

Details of the travel statistics obtained from NCAA also indicated that 27 international airlines operated 9, 673 flights with 3, 216 delays, 37 cancellations, 24 air/ramp returns, 18, 458 missing baggage and out of that number, 16, 978 baggage were later found.

During the period under review also, there were 45 overbooked flights and denied boarding for international travel and 60 complaints about pilferage and discourtesy.

There were 105 complaints, out of which 60 cases were resolved.

In terms of domestic airlines, there were 10 airlines, which operated 74, 537, 42 flights. Also, there were 328, 542 flight cancellations, 110 air/ramp returns and 1, 086 delayed flights. Similarly, there were also 1, 086 delayed/missing bags. The number of baggage recovered were 1, 082 and over booking was 27, while pilferage, 281, complaints 308 and resolved cases, 227.

Total number of flights operated by international airlines included Africa World Airlines, 1, 142; Air Cote D’Ivoire, 530; Air France, 255; Air Peace, 699; Asky Airline, 884; Azman Air, three; Badr Air, 47; British Airways, 584; Cronos Air, 130; Delta Airline, 350, and Egypt Air, 543.

Others were Emirates, 225; Ethiopian Airlines, 828; Kenya Airways, 721; KLM, 229; Lufthansa, 555; Middle East Airlines, 122; Qatar Airways, 679; Royal Air Maroc, 173; RwandAir, 310; Saudi Air, 24 and South Africa Airways, eight.

There were also TAAG Angola, 15; Tchad Air, 26; Turkish Airlines, 669, United AirLines, 12 and Virgin Atlantic, 363.

Operated flights by domestic airlines were as follows: Aero Contractors, 6,937; Arik Air, 9, 024; Azman Air, 3, 921; Dana Air, 9,360; Overland, 2, 917 and Air Peace, 17, 861. Others were Max Air, 8,607; Ibom Air, 9, 551, United Nigeria Airlines, 6, 408 and Green Africa, 1, 092.

There were indications that flight delays had not abated, as records showed that despite passengers’ complaints, over 35 percent of flights were delayed both on international and domestic flights.

The  data revealed that flight delays from January to December 2021, showed that domestic airlines operating in Nigeria recorded 41, 398 cases of delayed flights.

 

Flight delays by airlines were as follows: Aero Contractors 3, 766 from 6, 973 flights; Arik Air, 5, 171 from 9, 024 flights; Azman Air, 2,494 from 3, 921 flights and Dana Air, 5,227 from 9, 360 flights.

 

Others were Overland Airways, 2, 441 from 2,917 flights; Air Peace, 9, 900 from 17, 861 flights; Max Air, 5, 212 from 8, 607 flights; Ibom Air, 2, 582 from 9, 551 flights, United Nigeria Airlines, 4, 063 from 6, 408 flights and Green Africa, 542 from 1, 092 flights.

 

In the second quarter of 2021, the airport of Lagos, in Nigeria, counted 434 thousand domestic passenger arrivals and 427 thousand domestic passenger departures. Compared to the second quarter of 2020, the number of arrivals decreased by 22 percent, while the number of departures increased by 65 per cent.

 

Barring any hitch, Nigeria will in a few weeks begin the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme ( USOAP). The continuous monitoring approach  will offer  another window in assessing  the country’s capacity in the  implementation  its  state  safety oversight system in compliance with  the requirements of the global  body. KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR reports.

The campaign to put in place  safety management systems, processes, procedures and other interventions  required to scale up regulation for civil aviation authorities is gaining traction in the global air transport industry.

To drive this move, more countries are ramping up their state safety interventions to meet up with the standards prescribed by the global  civil aviation regulator – International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

To align with this objective, Nigeria in a few weeks will commence the ICAO, Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) exercise.

NCAA’s Director General,Captain Musa Nuhu, who stated this in an interview, said the programme would be completed in the first quarter of this year.

Nuhu the NCAA was constrained to clarify the exercise because of  misinformation making the round that the programme would focus on Annex 9 of ICAO, which covers facilitation rather than the global body’s Annex 17 which scope dwells on standards and recommended practices.

He said the exercise would take a greater look at such practices as it affects security of international air transport with amendment in addressing threats.

Shedding light on the exercise, Nuhu said: “ The  USOAP audit is an activity during which ICAO assesses the effective implementation of the critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system and conducts a systematic and objective review of a state’s safety oversight system to verify the status of a its compliance with the provisions of ICAO Convention.”

Nuhu insisted that the safety audit had nothing to do with either facilitation or security audits, but admitted that some teething challenges needed to be addressed in the industry.

Nuhu explained that security has its separate audit, stressing that Nigeria performed well in the last security audit conducted in the sector by ICAO.

He recalled that in the last ICAO Security Audit (USOAP-CMA) of Nigeria – the Effective Implementation (EI), Nigeria scored 96.4 per cent and the country received ICAO Council President Award Certificate for its performance.

He explained further that the USOAP-CMA Audit (security audit) is now scheduled for the third quarter of 2022, stressing that NCAA’s aspirational Effective Implementation (EI) score for the USOAP-CMA Audit is 90 per cent.

He insisted that all hands were  on deck to ensure this becomes a reality.

“NCAA will step up its oversight function and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders to ensure continued improvement in aviation security and facilitation. Security audit is different from safety audit. What we are doing is quite different from security audit and it’s not related to facilitation. I understand facilitation is good for passengers, but it has nothing to do with the audit.

“The last security audit we had, Nigeria scored 96.4 per cent and because of this performance, Nigeria received ICAO Council President Award Certificate for its performance. Yes, I accept we have some challenges in the industry, just like in the other countries around the world. However, to say Nigeria is not ready for audit is a misnomer. Someone is saying we are not ready for two issues that are not part of the forthcoming audit. I think that is wrong,” he said.

Nuhu  declared last week that the country was fully prepared for the audit.

According to him, NCAA was on top of its game to ensure a successful outing for the Nigeria in the ICAO audit.

He added that its proactive approach and robust regulations had led to the over eight years of zero accident in commercial flights in Nigeria and vowed that the regulatory agency would continue to ensure excellence performance for the country.

 

Dana Air is offering an automatic Silver Card membership and 9000 executive miles to its Business Class passengers in the first quarter of the year to appreciate air travellers.

In addition, the airline has also introduced a fare of N23,400 for passengers  on the Lagos-Owerri-Enugu route. According to the Chief Operating Officer, Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo, “ This promo is to encourage and appreciate our business class customers to fly more, spend less, and enjoy the benefits of the silver membership of Dana Miles and for every business class ticket you book in the first quarter of this year, you get 9000 miles free which is really exciting.

“The Silver Card holders get loads of additional benefits from free tickets to more miles, more excess baggage allowance and with this additional offer of 9000 executive miles, they can get a lot of things done for free using their Dana Miles account which also includes paying for excess baggage for their friends and family with their miles, upgrade from economy class ticket to business class, not leaving out huge discounts at partner stores and outlets.”

He added: “We have other existing promos for our Dana Miles members like new members get 9000 miles.

“We have also introduced a flash fare of N23,400 for customers travelling from Lagos to Owerri and Enugu. We did N18,000 in December and now N23,400, so our customers are advised to plan their trips early.”

The Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu has said the authority will grow its revenue by 30 per cent by the second quarter of the year.

Part of the strategy to achieve this new move, he said, is to tap into non-aeronautic sources.

Non-aeronautical sources of revenue are income are non-flight based. They include revenue from car parks, shops at the airport, and outdoor advertisement.

Yadudu said due to newer variants of the COVID-19, steps were being taken to ensure that the authority  stays afloat and comes out stronger from the pandemic.

He said aeronautical revenue to the authority have come under severe pressure due to the pandemic.

Speaking at the FAAN Breakfast Meeting in Lagos with the theme: Sustainable aviation business in a post-pandemic- The role of FAAN’s management, he explained that non-aeronautical revenue presents tremendous opportunities to grow and diversify FAANs revenue base.

“It accounts for 27.5 per cent  of our total revenue and has increased by 8.3 per cent  year-on-year from August 2016 till date. Our target from this meeting is to increase this to at least 30 per cent  by the end of second  quarter of 2022 as well as come up with other strategies for building sustainable aviation business amidst the pandemic,” Yadudu stressed.

He expressed confidence that the FAAN team could  achieve the goals and that with innovation, determination and commitment, it would be well.

He emphasised more investment in infrastructure and capacity building as well as ensuring safety and security.

He called on the  management team  to emphasise operational efficiency while stressing that all techniques must be employed to accomplish the goals in the most cost-effective and timely manner as there will be no room for wastage or abuse.

 

 

The COVID-19 pandemic and emerging variants continue to do incalculable damage to air transport business globally. As the sector rebounds, operators are exploiting huge revenue potential in the air cargo and logistic value chain estimated at over trillions of naira. In Nigeria, experts say that segment of the industry holds the key to turning around the economy, if the relevant regulatory bodies enhance their oversight duties, design tailor-made training programmes for operators and package other interventions that will step up participation in air cargo, KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR reports.

Nigeria is yet to optimise the potential in the air cargo value chain. If operators step up their game, and adopt the right processes, exeperts say, they will harness the huge  resources in the sector.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the umbrella body of global carriers, air cargo is valued at over $6 trillion and an estimated 35 per cent of world trade by value.

According to the global body, shipping by air is a fast and efficient means of transport for goods. Airlines transport over 52 million metric tons of goods a year, representing more than 35 per cent  of global trade by value but less than one per cent  of world trade by volume. That is equivalent to $6.8 trillion worth of goods yearly, or $18.6 billion worth of goods daily. However, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the air industry, including air cargo.

To deepen participation in this business, airlines, ground handling companies, freight forwarders and other players in the logistic value chain have continued to up their game.

To underscore the development, players in the air cargo value chain say bespoke strategies by stakeholders would enhance the value of air cargo and contribute to the business.

In an interview, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Prime Ports Logistics, Otunba Femi Adewunmi said one way to harness the benefits of air cargo business is to move goods and other materials from the major airport in Lagos to other locations such as Port Harcourt.

According to him, though the pandemic and its variant has affected air transport business, there is still huge revenue potential in air freighting because Nigeria as an import dependent country would require materials for its industries.

Adewunmi said the import dependent nature of Nigeria, with huge needs form materials for the manufacturing, oil and gas and other industries would require materials across the globe to run their businesses.

He said: “Air cargo or freight business starts from procurement, which requires that you are buying a material for your organisation.

“After procurement, the people or organisation involved would need to move the items by air from the point of purchase to the location where the material is needed. This is where air cargo and players in the logistic business needs to get involved. As much as Nigeria remains a heavily import dependent country, air cargo would continue to thrive.

“What players in the logistic sector need to do is to scale up their services by adhering to the required regulations, practices and procedures to thrive in the business.”

Adewunmi continued: “Nigeria has a huge potential in the air cargo and freight value chain because most of the industries with huge demand for imported raw materials need to keep their operations running.”

He said though a lot needs to be done to scale up regulation by the relevant agencies for operators in the value chain.

Adewunmi said: “Air cargo in Nigeria could be profitable, if the operators are doing the right thing. It is all about the value you bring to the process of offering services that would bring in huge revenues in the sector.

“But, the value you are able to extract and add is what primes your opportunity to grow in the business.”

While giving value for the air cargo industry business in Nigeria, Adewunmi said though the market is worth over trillions of naira with stiff competition among the players it was difficult to capture data on the scale of operations.

The Prime Ports Logistic boss said: “All I will say is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to put a figure to the value chain because we are still navigating around how to agree on industry estimate.

“In Nigeria it is difficult to capture and keep data, though it appears like work-in- progress as relevant government agencies are trying to improve on issues of linkages and non- compliance. This explains why the government is  pushing to follow due process as an import step in getting statistics, which is required when policies and decisions on the industry would be taken.

“All I can say is that the value of air cargo and freight in Nigeria runs into billions of dollars. But, it is extremely difficult to give an exact figures  straight.This is because the majority of everything we use in Nigeria or consume in one way or the other are produced with imported materials. We are still dependent on importation.This explains why many manufacturers are pushing for local manufacturing as research and development will drive us to another direction.”

On classification of operators in the air cargo value chain, Adewunmi identified three groups; the low, medium and top players, which have changed the dynamics in the sector to push it into an unstructured regime.

He said the air cargo value chain could contribute more to the  economy if opportunities available for low and middle range players are scaled up to address issues bordering on funding are resolved.

He said: ” Air cargo business could be better, if the market is turned around to be more formal, improve regulations.”

On the effects of the pandemic, Adewunmi said though the air transport sector has been affected , but there is hope for a rebound of business, throwing up opportunities for those who are ready to tap opportunities available in the sector.

He said: “It is not the end for air cargo business, while the pandemic is still biting hard, it is time to organise the business by getting the right structures in place, the requisite training and plan ahead when the opportunity beckons to unleash.”

Adewunmi threw a challenge to the relevant agencies to fix equipment gap at the airport for air freight and logistic operators.

He said having the right operational equipment at the airport for air cargo processing would create a conducive environment for operators.

Giving updates on his experience in the last seven years in the value chain, he wondered why clients would prefer to ferry their air cargo through Lagos Airport and not Port Harcourt.

To reverse this trend, he urged the aeronautical agencies to speed up and overhaul the procedures and processes of facilitating cargo by improving facilities in airports outside Lagos to attract more players.