The Nation Newspaper

Category: Aviation

  • Dana unveils promo on Owerri route

    Dana Air has unveiled  a ‘Buy two, get one free’ promo for passengers on its Lagos-Owerri-Lagos route, as part of the benefits of its partnership with the Imo State government.

    According to its  Communications Manager,  Kingsley Ezenwa, the promotion is for business and leisure passengers.

    ”We are delighted to have introduced the ‘Buy two, get one free’ promo; which is not only for the hospital people of Imo State, but for business and leisure travelers on our Lagos – Owerri- Lagos routes. This promo and many more initiatives to come are some of the benefits of the existing partnership that we have with the Imo State government.’’

    Speaking further, he said: “As an airline committed to satisfying our guests, especially our Dana Miles Guests, this offer is also our way of encouraging people to fly more to the beautiful city of Owerri. This is definitely a good time for our Owerri passengers.“

    He urged passengers   to take advantage of the promo.

    The  airline  recently launched a customer–centric initiative called ‘Pay with Dana Miles’ which enables members of its frequent flyer program to use their miles as they desire to pay for excess baggage, upgrade from economy class to business class, exchange miles for tickets and lots more.

  • Airports’non-certification worries ICAO

    President of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Dr. Olumuyiwa Aliu has expressed worry over the non -certification of airports in Africa.

    Aliu said the global body was worried that countries on the continent were not making enough efforts to pursue the certification of their airports in line with global standards.

    For airports to scale ICAO certification, they must have, among others, adequate fire cover; efficient airspace communication infrastructure; water hydrant; fire fighting vehicles; airfield lighting, and perimeter fencing.

    Other requirements, he said, include a standard runway and Pavement Classification Number (PCN), adequate fire tenders, standard instrument landing systems, fuelling facilities, baggage handling, apron and quick response to distress.

    In an online interview,Aliu said ICAO  had put in place a project to support African states in the certification of their airports.

    He said ICAO’s regional office for Africa and Indian Ocean, is already working on the project under its comprehensive plan to assist countries.

    Aliu said some airports in West and Central Africa have been selected for the ICAO assistance project.

    He said :” ICAO has put in place a project to support African states in the certification of airports because many of their airports are not certified. Our regional offices are working on this. There is a specific project under our AFI Comprehensive Plan, to assist African states in the certification of airports.

    “And our office in Dakar, which is responsible for West and Central African region, has picked a number of candidate airports under this project. Lagos and Abuja are some of those airports. So as we expand our operations to assist, if the airports in Lagos and Abuja are certified, then, the lessons learned from that process and the best practice established, can assist the effort in other African countries in the certification of their airports.”

    He also called on African countries to develop a framework for the use of drone, or remotely piloted aircraft system to ensure air safety and security.

    Besides the benefits of drone, Aliu said the challenge of regulation remains an issue for the global body.

    He said : “ So, it is left literally to the ingenuity of people on how they want to apply the technology. And the expansion is so rapid that we can barely catch-up with the expansion.

    “This is why it is important  that every country should develop a framework to regulate these activities in a manner that you can still take advantage of to ensure safety, security and efficiency, the sustainability, even the issue of privacy have to be looked into.

    “So, it is a challenge for regulators to be able to catch-up in order to put such a framework in place.”

    He said though drone is basically for domestic use, there is need to harmonise regulations among African states.

    Aliu said :” As far as drone is concerned , it is mainly for domestic use. Normally, ICAO does not get involved in domestic aviation matters.

    “ But because of the need to harmonise regulations among our member states, a decision was taken during the last assembly that ICAO should develop  a template, for international regulation.’’

  • ‘Why NIMET should be strengthened’

    The Director General  and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi has canvassed the strengthening of the agency to enable it discharge its statutory responsibility.

    Part of the measures to strengthen the agency, Mashi said should include more funding and training of its pool of professionals .

    Doing this, the NIMET boss said will enhance the capacity of the agency rather than calls in done quartets for the setting up of another agency.

    He said the creation of another agency will amount to duplication of functions and waste of public resources .

    Fielding questions from reporters in Lagos Last week  Mashi setting up another body will be counterproductive.

    “Furthermore, NiMet is the repository of the National archive of climate data in Nigeria. The climate data bank has data spanning over a century from over 60 synoptic stations spread across the nation. There are no meaningful climate studies or policy developments that can be conducted without credible climate data. This climate data can only be found in NiMet.

  • 25 ships laden with petroleum products, others at Apapa ports

    TwentY-FIVE ships are discharging petroleum products and other commodities at the Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said.

    According to NPA, the other items being offloaded are bulk wheat, steel products, general cargo, petrol, containers and bulk gas.

    They also include bulk charcoal, butane gas, raw sugar, ballast, bulk corn and bulk fertiliser.

    Forty-one other ships are also expected to arrive at the ports between now and August 28 with petroleum products, food items and other goods.

    NPA said the ships would bring general cargoes, bulk fertiliser, buck wheat, lubrication oil, empty containers, bulk sugar and petrol.

    It added that 10 ships had arrived at the ports, waiting to berth with bulk fertiliser, general cargo, bulk sculpture and petrol.

  • Funding directive row rocks FAAN,AIB

    Funding directive row rocks FAAN,AIB

    Should the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) get five per cent of the revenue from the Passengers’ Service Charge (PSC) of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)? A ministerial directive that FAAN should remit that revenue percentage to AIB has sparked a row. According to experts, the directive offends the autonomy clause in the Acts of both agencies. Unions and stakeholders are getting set for battle on the issue, writes KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR

    A ministerial directive to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to fund the Accident  Investigation Bureau(AIB) is causing ripples in the industry.

    Unless urgent steps are taken, some decisions of the Ministry of Aviation may throw a spanner in the works.

    The controversy is on the remittance of five per cent of the Passengers’Service Charge FAAN collects to AIB.

    Apart from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),  mandated to collect five per cent Ticket Sales/Cargo Charge ( TSC/CSC) from airlines, and distribute among agencies, other parastatals fund themselves.

    The Ministry of Aviation has given approval for five per cent of the PSC to be remitted to the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) to fund its operations, a development that is creating confusion in the sector.

    Experts say such approval amounted to an aberration likely to rock the boat in the sector.

    Consequently, aviation unions are mobilising to stall the implementation of the directive should FAAN go ahead with the directive.

    Such approval, the experts say, is unhealthy for the sector because the transfer of funds from one agency to another contradicts the establishing Acts of the agencies and amounts  to robbing one agency to pay another.

    Officials of FAAN and the Ministry of Aviation have declined to comment on the directive. No reason was given. But it would apear their refusal is predicated on the controversy the development is generating in the sector.

    According to investigations, with an estimated 15 million passengers travelling through airports yearly the AIB may earn about N4.2 billion from five per cent of PSC okayed for it by the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

    This is besides the N2 billion yearly subvention of the agency and the three per cent monthly Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) collected by the NCAA.

    Investigation revealed that FAAN collects N1,000 each from domestic travellers while it charges $50 (N18,250 at the exchange rate of N365 to a dollar) each from international passengers as PSC.

    Last year, 15,233,597 passengers passed through the airports; 11 million of the travellers moved within the domestic scene and 4.2 million were international travellers.

    However, opposition is increasing over the development as the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has kicked against the directive.

     

    Unions kick 

    NUATE  General Secretary Comrade Olayinka Abioye insisted it is not in the purview of the minister to unilaterally grant the request of AIB, which sought 10 per cent of  the PSC, without passing through the National Assembly.

    He challenged AIB to justify the three per cent of Ticket Sales Charge the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) remits to it since its establishment in 2006.

    Abioye vowed that the unions  would kick against the approval at the right time.

    He said: “As unions  we do not think that it is the right thing to have been done by the minister because allocations to parastatals are not within the purview of the minister. It should be part of the responsibilities of the National Assembly.

    “Also, has AIB justified the three per cent it has been collecting? We have to know what they have been doing with the money. Again, why 10 per cent or they just flew a kite at the minister and he grabbed it? That is not fair. Why should FAAN be allowed to suffer the failure of AIB in devising positive non-aeronautical means of generating internal revenue?

    “What happened to the budget approved by the Federal Government and National Assembly for the training of personnel in AIB? There are lots of questions and I want to say here that we are going to kick against this position.”

    Also, members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) branch, and the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), have condemned Sirika’s directive.

    Investigations revealed that   FAAN has been grappling with the payment of gratuities of some workers who left service since May 2016. With such financial responsibility, the unions said directing FAAN to remit five per cent of the PSC would deplete its purse.

    The unions said AIB was not doing much and, therefore, did not need five per cent of the PSC.

    Their position is that if AIB was in need of money, the Ministry of Aviation should provide such funds in line with laws that established it.

    Speaking on behalf of ANAP, its Secretary-General,Comrade Abdulrazaq Saidu, said such move by the ministry would not be accepted.

    He said what was expected from the ministry was for it to first address the  debts  owed service providers by airlines.

    Similarly, NUP, FAAN branch  chairman Comrade  Razaq Ope, said the minister’s directive was unacceptable.

    He said: “If they don’t have money, let the government pay them. FAAN is taking care of many things – equipment, control tower. Most of the equipment are being taken care of by FAAN. AIB is not doing anything for anybody. It is not ideal and we, the unions, are ready to challenge the ministry on this issue.”

     

    AIB’s request for 10% PSC

    AIB on June 6, 2017 received Sirika’s consent to its request for five per cent of the PSC collected by FAAN.

    A document made available to our correspondent by a source in the Ministry of Transport, addressed to the Minister of State for Aviation, and dated June 5, indicated that the Commissioner of AIB,  Akin Olateru, requested for approval for FAAN to allocate 10 per cent of the PSC to it.

    Olateru explained that with the Federal Government’s commitment to make aviation work for all stakeholders, especially for the  public, it was necessary for the ministry in tandem with the National Assembly to make additional funds available to AIB for it to be adequately funded to deliver on its primary duties.

    “Pending recruitment to beef up acute personnel gaps in the bureau and the non-utilisation of a duly commissioned AIB’s Safety Laboratory, which costs over N1 billion to set up, because of paucity of funds required to upgrade the soft and hardware store components.”

    However, Sirika on June 6, approved the request, saying: “We discussed. Approval is hereby given. Convey  five per cent approval.”

     

    AIB replies critics

    Olateru in an interview, said those kicking against the approval were mischievous.

    In justifying the request and subsequent approval, Olateru decried that apart from NCAA, it was only AIB that was not profit-oriented.

    He lamented that only three per cent was allocated to AIB from the  five per cent TSC collected by NCAA. NCAA gets 58 per cent, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), 23 per cent, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) gets seven per cent and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), nine per cent.

    He said FAAN and AIB were government’s agencies, wondering why any association would kick against it.

    He added: “Of the PSC, it is only FAAN that spends the money 100 per cent, yet the same FAAN charges include advert, parking and landing of aircraft, and land, and cars coming to the airports.

    “Anybody that says it is not fair for us to get a part of the PSC is wicked because who owns the two agencies? It’s the Federal Government. We all share the TSC and FAAN doesn’t share its PSC with anybody and the government in its wisdom says ‘FAAN please give AIB five per cent.’ I don’t think that is too much. It is within the power of the minister to do that.”

    He decried that paucity of money was stalling the release of over 35 accident investigations, and the training of accident investigators since 2013.

    He stressed that the agency needed to develop its human resources to compete with others.

  • Govt, experts bicker over automation

    Govt, experts bicker over automation

    There is disquiet in the airspace segment of aviation over the government’s alleged failure to automate facilities used by Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) personnel.

    This, according to experts, is hindering efforts to promote air safety and meet global requirements.

    The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) set November 15, 2013 as deadline for AIS automation worldwide.

    AIS automation, the global body said, would enhance air safety with pilots sending their aeronautical messages on-line and this would reduce excessive telephone conversation between pilots and air traffic controllers.

    The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) set December 2016 deadline for the completion of the first phase of the AIS automation in some locations.

    The locations  are Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Jos, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Owerri and Yola. Others are Zaria, Calabar, Osubi, Minna, Kaduna, Enugu, Katsina, Ibadan, Benin, Akure, Bebi, Bonny, Eket and Eskravos.

    But paucity of funds, investigations revealed, is stalling the automation of this critical air safety component.

    The automation when completed, it is said, would link Nigeria to a centralised aeronautical database, which would be connected to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) AFI Region Centralised Aeronautical Information Data Base (AFI-CAT).

    The AIS automation second phase was set for December 2017.

    Personnel attached to AIS in NAMA said they are unable to perform optimally because of failure of the agency to automate aeronautical equipment.

    According to them, despite AIS relevance to flight and aircraft safety in the airspace, the NAMA management has only paid lip service to their complaints. And efforts to draw the agency’s attention to the sore point in air navigation technology, they said, have not yielded the right results.

    AIS President Babatunde Shittu said continuous discharge of their responsibilities, using manual processes, had made their work very difficult.

    However, a NAMA official said the agency was striving to achieve AIS operations automation before the end of the year.

    The agency, according to the official, who craved  anonymity, has put AIS automation as one of its priority projects when the agency secures funding.

    Shittu listed AIS personnel’s responsibilities to include collation, analysis, processing, formatting and dissemination of information to pilots before they embark on a flight. All these, according to him, are too tedious manually.

    He said if the system were automated, pilots would be able to get information real-time onboard their aircraft. ”We are appealing to the government to speed up the AIS automation process. It has been on for over 10 years. Other countries of the world, even in Africa, like Kenya, South Africa have long gone past the automation of the AIS. What we are talking about here is a software and this software is very important and without the software a safe landing of an aircraft is dangerous,”he said.

    Another expert, Captain Edemeka Umoh, who is a pilot, said the importance of AIS in a safe flight operations cannot be over-emphasised.

    According to him, data provided by the AIS help pilots to make good judgment constituting about 95 per cent of the decisions during flights.

    He said: ”AIS enhances safety, improve situational awareness, better economics, better alternate airports planning, reduces aircraft maintenance and pilot cockpit workload. It makes the job of the industry easier because of the provision of accurate data.”

    Captain Umoh noted that the way forward was for the airspace agency to pursue on-the-job training for AIS personnel.

    An official of NAMA said the funds to actualise the automation of AIS, has been captured in this year’s budget .

    He said when the funds are released automation will be achieved seamlessly.

    In a related development,NAMA  has rounded off a four-week on-the-job Training (OJT) for 48 Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) Cadets of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.

    The OJT exercise which took place at designated airports in Lagos and Kano centres is part of the critical requirements for the cadets to attain certification by NCAT as full AIS Officers. Meanwhile, the Managing Director of NAMA, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu has congratulated the cadets for their “excellent performance,” during the OJT, saying that the result of the training showed that staff of the agency appreciate efforts of management towards building capacity of workers.”

    In a statement, Akinkuotu maintained that NAMA would continue to give priority to training and training of staff as this would enable them to effectively man the sophisticated Air Traffic Management infrastructure being deployed by the agency.

    AIS unit Head at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos , Mrs. Titilayo Ayinde, said AIS personnel always ensures that aeronautical data and information necessary for safety, regularity or efficiency of air navigation are made available in formats suitable for operational requirements of the air traffic management (ATM) community.

    Professionals requiring such information, she said, include those in flight operations, such as crews, flight planning and simulators.

    She called on the authorities to see AIS as one of the most important pillars of safe and efficient air navigation. “ It is a fundamental element without which modern flying would be all but impossible,”she said.

    An official of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Felix Anyanwu, urged AIS officers to avail themselves of training organised by ICAO to be abreast of amendments to annexes.

    He said any AIS personnel without automation knowledge is going nowhere.

  • Omniblu trains flight dispatchers

    To boost home-grown licensed professionals, Omniblu Aviation Limited has completed the training of four flight dispatchers. The airline said it invested over N10 million in the training of professionals in basic and advanced courses  for flight dispatchers at Landover Aviation Centre and Aeroconsult Training School in Lagos.

    According to a statement by the airline, the dispatchers include Douglas Musa, Olusegun Awe, Tolulope Rahman, Samuel Eziukwu and Adebola Ilori.

    ”By this action, we added to the pool of home-grown licensed professionals in the aviation industry and contributed to the National Content Development initiative of the Federal Government. We have also demonstrably done something about the unemployment situation in the country.

    “This feat is against the backdrop that Omni-Blu Aviation only received its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) for passenger and cargo services in December 2015 from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and began operations in June 2016.

    “ Within the short period of a little over one and a half years of operations, we have been able to churn out five flight dispatchers,” the airline said.

  • Arik unveils Ambassadors Unit

    Arik Air has launched its Ambassadors Unit to enhance relationship with customers and others.

    The launch took place last week at Arik Air’s counter at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

    At the ceremony, Arik Air Vice President, Ground Operations,  Capt. Murat Ozcan, said the idea originated from the airline’s commitment to continually improving its customer services.

    “The essence of our bringing the Ambassadors Unit together is to give our customers a better experience at the airport. The ambassadors unit has been designed to look after the passengers’ needs, whatever that need would be.

    “Anytime there is an issue or there is something the passengers want to know, they can approach the ambassadors, who will resolve the issue in a timely manner,” Ozcan said.

    According to him, one of the frequent complaints by passengers is the time it normally takes to attend to their issues by the airline’s operations staffers.

    He said: “That is why we decided to put up this unit to look after the passengers once they walk into the terminal.

    “Our ambassadors have a distinguished outfit and can easily be recognised by passengers. So, they are always available to render assistance to the passengers.”

  • Travelstart strengthens market penetration

    Travelstart Nigeria has begun to strengthen its brand presence and market penetration in the travel business.

    The firm has engaged in a series of activities that will engage its customers and business partners.

    Speaking at a  forum in Lagos, the Country Manager, Philip Akesson, described it as a platform to empower travel affiliates and provide them updates on ways to earn more commission.

    Akesson said affiliates are major stakeholders and business drivers that help Travelstart to be the leading online travel agency in Nigeria.

    He said: “With our core mission to fix travel in Africa, Travelstart is the largest online travel agency in Africa with Head Office in South Africa and offices in Egypt, Dubai. We need the expertise and partnership of our affiliates to penetrate and win in the Nigerian market.”

    The Commercial Manager, Bukky Olowude, said the brand is ready to invest more in marketing communications specifically offline to make the job of the affiliates easier thereby increasing their revenue.

    She said: “Prior to now, Travelstart has always been visible and active online. To further improve the brand’s visibility and affinity we are now ready to push the brand offline through strategic communication campaigns, therefore increasing online ticket sales for our affiliates.”

    The Affiliate Manager, Travelstart Nigeria, Azeez Alimi,  thanked the affiliates for their partnership and support.

  • DANA deepens customer service

    Dana Air has introduced another customercentric product called ‘Pay with Dana Miles” as part of efforts to enhance service delivery to its customers, especially the Dana Miles members.

    With the ‘Pay with Dana Miles’ initiative, members of the airlines’ frequent flyer programme can now use their miles as they desire for payment of excess baggage, upgrade from economy class to business class, exchange miles for tickets and still get loads of benefits attached to the frequent flyer programme of the airline.

    Dana Air Media/Communications Manager, Mr. Kingsley Ezenwa, said the carrier was excited to introduce the ‘Pay with Dana Miles initiative, which offers passengers the opportunity to use their miles as they desire.

    He said:”The pay with Dana Miles initiative is just our way of providing more options for our guests and keeping our strategic mission, which is to earn the loyalty and respect of our customers by consistently demonstrating our commitment to service, and providing affordable regional air transport services that focuses on innovation, quality and service excellence.”

    He said being a member of the airlines’ frequent flyer programme offers an amazing opportunity to get value added services not just with the airline, but with its partners across Nigeria, and that frequent flyers of the airline should expect more tailored benefits in the coming months.

    ‘Our Dana miles members need not worry anymore when there are online payment issues, or bank issues, as they can get on their system and use their miles for as many functions as they desire. Apart from all of these, members of our frequent flyer programme also get extra value not just with us, but with our partners across Nigeria, which includes banks, hotels, cab companies and many more and these benefits are tailored to the needs of our guests.’’