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Tag: FAAN

  • FAAN tightens security at Lagos airport airside

    FAAN tightens security at Lagos airport airside

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has deployed 10 Hilux patrol vehicles to tighten security at the airside of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The airside is the area of an airport with direct access to the aircraft. Entry to the place is controlled.

    In an interview in Lagos, FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, said the deployment was part of measures to enhance efficiency and security at the airport.

    She said: ”The authority will like to assure airport users and the public that we will continue to upgrade our facilities, processes and procedures, in consonance with our core values of security, safety and comfort.”

    In a related development, FAAN has automated the car park at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.

    Mrs Yakubu said  within one month of the  exercise, it has recorded 68 per cent increase in revenue.

    She said the exercise had blocked some of the leakages in the system.

    She said with the automation, rowdiness and  traffic gridlock  caused by the manual collection at the park had disappeared.

    Mrs Yakubu  said  FAAN would review the performance of the exercise by the end of this quarter and make adjustments where necessary. He noted that so far, the new system had been in favour of both FAAN and the public.

    FAAN started the automation of the GAT car park on January 8, a development that has eliminated the manual collection of toll which was in place for about two decades.

    She said: “FAAN decided to overhaul the whole system and see how we could make it orderly because we were getting a lot of complaints from our passengers and airport users that they were not getting space to park their vehicles.Then, we were wondering if all the people that parked their vehicles at the car park were airport workers and travellers. Also, we are in an era of technology where people no longer do things manually, but automated. That was what prompted FAAN into doing the automation.

    “And since we started, there has been a lot of sanity at the car park. There is a lot of orderliness, progression. As soon as you go into the airport, you just go into the car park without any issues. In time past, there were lots of queues. Once you get into the airport, if you are not dropping, you are encouraged to go to the car park and do your business there, rather than parking on the road and create traffic jam.”

    Despite the automation of the car park, Mrs Yakubu said FAAN would still continue with the planned construction of a multi-storey car park within the GAT terminal, stressing that such would further enhance revenue generation for the agency.

    “As you know, FAAN just completed the construction of a multi-storey car park at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Plans are on ground, too, for the car park at the GAT. When we commence the construction, everyone would see it,” she said.

    On the evacuation of aircraft at the Lagos Airport, she said the exercise had been completed in Lagos while the team would move to Kano airport for the same exercise and, subsequently, move to Ilorin, Kaduna and others.

    She added that FAAN was also working on the toilets at the international wing of the Lagos Airport.

    “The Wing D toilet fittings have been removed and replaced. Once we are done with Wing D, we shall move to Wing E. We are doing overhaul of the facilities so that we can have new toilets for users,”she said.

  • Runway incursions: FAAN to capture airport perimeter fence in 2019 budget

    Runway incursions: FAAN to capture airport perimeter fence in 2019 budget

    Worried over the rising cases of runway incursions at airports nationwide, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said on Tuesday it would address the challenge by factoring the construction of airports’ perimeter fencing in the 2019 budget.

    The General Manager, Public Affairs division of FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, disclosed this in Lagos.

    She said the Authority is becoming increasingly worried over issues bordering on security at airports.

    Yakubu said the incident at Akure airport, where a herd of cows invaded the runway when an aircraft was getting ready to land is being addressed.

    She said though, the Akure airport has perimeter fence, the cows gained access to the runway through sections of the fence that had collapsed.

    According to her, FAAN civil engineers were already at the airport to fix the collapsed section of the fence.

     

     

  • FAAN tightens security at Lagos airport airside

    FAAN tightens security at Lagos airport airside

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has deployed 10 Hilux patrol vehicles to tighten security at the airside of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The airside is the area of an airport with direct access to the aircraft. Entry to the place is controlled.

    In an interview in Lagos, FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, said the deployment was part of measures to enhance efficiency and security at the airport.

    She said: ”The authority will like to assure airport users and the public that we will continue to upgrade our facilities, processes and procedures, in consonance with our core values of security, safety and comfort.”

    In a related development, FAAN has automated the car park at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.

    Mrs Yakubu said  within one month of the  exercise, it has recorded 68 per cent increase in revenue.

    She said the exercise had blocked some of the leakages in the system.

    She said with the automation, rowdiness and  traffic gridlock  caused by the manual collection at the park had disappeared.

    Mrs Yakubu  said  FAAN would review the performance of the exercise by the end of this quarter and make adjustments where necessary. He noted that so far, the new system had been in favour of both FAAN and the public.

    FAAN started the automation of the GAT car park on January 8, a development that has eliminated the manual collection of toll which was in place for about two decades.

    She said: “FAAN decided to overhaul the whole system and see how we could make it orderly because we were getting a lot of complaints from our passengers and airport users that they were not getting space to park their vehicles.Then, we were wondering if all the people that parked their vehicles at the car park were airport workers and travellers. Also, we are in an era of technology where people no longer do things manually, but automated. That was what prompted FAAN into doing the automation.

    “And since we started, there has been a lot of sanity at the car park. There is a lot of orderliness, progression. As soon as you go into the airport, you just go into the car park without any issues. In time past, there were lots of queues. Once you get into the airport, if you are not dropping, you are encouraged to go to the car park and do your business there, rather than parking on the road and create traffic jam.”

    Despite the automation of the car park, Mrs Yakubu said FAAN would still continue with the planned construction of a multi-storey car park within the GAT terminal, stressing that such would further enhance revenue generation for the agency.

    “As you know, FAAN just completed the construction of a multi-storey car park at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Plans are on ground, too, for the car park at the GAT. When we commence the construction, everyone would see it,” she said.

    On the evacuation of aircraft at the Lagos Airport, she said the exercise had been completed in Lagos while the team would move to Kano airport for the same exercise and, subsequently, move to Ilorin, Kaduna and others.

    She added that FAAN was also working on the toilets at the international wing of the Lagos Airport.

    “The Wing D toilet fittings have been removed and replaced. Once we are done with Wing D, we shall move to Wing E. We are doing overhaul of the facilities so that we can have new toilets for users,”she said.

  • FAAN tightens security at Lagos airport airside

    FAAN tightens security at Lagos airport airside

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has deployed 10 Hilux patrol vehicles to tighten security at the airside of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The airside is the area of an airport with direct access to the aircraft. Entry to the place is controlled.

    In an interview in Lagos, FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, said the deployment was part of measures to enhance efficiency and security at the airport.

    She said: ”The authority will like to assure airport users and the public that we will continue to upgrade our facilities, processes and procedures, in consonance with our core values of security, safety and comfort.”

    In a related development, FAAN has automated the car park at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.

    Mrs Yakubu said  within one month of the  exercise, it has recorded 68 per cent increase in revenue.

    She said the exercise had blocked some of the leakages in the system.

    She said with the automation, rowdiness and  traffic gridlock  caused by the manual collection at the park had disappeared.

    Mrs Yakubu  said  FAAN would review the performance of the exercise by the end of this quarter and make adjustments where necessary. He noted that so far, the new system had been in favour of both FAAN and the public.

    FAAN started the automation of the GAT car park on January 8, a development that has eliminated the manual collection of toll which was in place for about two decades.

    She said: “FAAN decided to overhaul the whole system and see how we could make it orderly because we were getting a lot of complaints from our passengers and airport users that they were not getting space to park their vehicles.Then, we were wondering if all the people that parked their vehicles at the car park were airport workers and travellers. Also, we are in an era of technology where people no longer do things manually, but automated. That was what prompted FAAN into doing the automation.

    “And since we started, there has been a lot of sanity at the car park. There is a lot of orderliness, progression. As soon as you go into the airport, you just go into the car park without any issues. In time past, there were lots of queues. Once you get into the airport, if you are not dropping, you are encouraged to go to the car park and do your business there, rather than parking on the road and create traffic jam.”

    Despite the automation of the car park, Mrs Yakubu said FAAN would still continue with the planned construction of a multi-storey car park within the GAT terminal, stressing that such would further enhance revenue generation for the agency.

    “As you know, FAAN just completed the construction of a multi-storey car park at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Plans are on ground, too, for the car park at the GAT. When we commence the construction, everyone would see it,” she said.

    On the evacuation of aircraft at the Lagos Airport, she said the exercise had been completed in Lagos while the team would move to Kano airport for the same exercise and, subsequently, move to Ilorin, Kaduna and others.

    She added that FAAN was also working on the toilets at the international wing of the Lagos Airport.

    “The Wing D toilet fittings have been removed and replaced. Once we are done with Wing D, we shall move to Wing E. We are doing overhaul of the facilities so that we can have new toilets for users,”she said.

  • ICRC to resolve FAAN, MMA2 concession disputes

    The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), said it will deploy everything within its ability to ensure the concession dispute between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services is  resolved.

    The Commission, which is saddled with the responsibility of monitoring and ensuring the efficient execution of all Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects entered  into by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on behalf of the Federal Government, said it has continued to engage the Minister of State on Aviation,Hadi Sirika, on these challenges and believe they will be resolved soon enough in order to strengthen the relationship between the parties.

    The MMA2 and the Hotel and Conference Centre concessions awarded to Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, as a PPP project for the design, engineering, procurement, construction, completion, commissioning, operations and transfer, has been  experiencing  several challenges.

    The terminal which took off in 2007, was concessioned by FAAN, as representative of the Federal Government on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, but while BASL insists that the concession agreement was for 36 years and that the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) belongs to the company in cognizance of the agreement, FAAN insists that it did not endorse 36 years for the concession, but 12 years and that GAT was not part of the agreement.

    Speaking during a visit by the ICRC to MMA2, yesterday, Acting Director-General, ICRC, Chidi Izuwah, said he was aware of the challenges between  both parties,

    He said:  “We want to listen to both parties as an independent regulator, we want to physically assess the situation and challenges on ground, in order to bette appreciate the positions by FAAN and Bi-Courtney and thereafter suggest possible line of action in resolving these issues.

    “We are interested in having an update from the parties on the performance of the related projects; we want to understand the challenges facing the operators, as well as the grantor of the contracts and the various steps taken towards resolving these challenges; we want to hear from the parties their requests to the government in ensuring the projects are efficiently implemented for the overall benefits to the government.”

    Also speaking during the visit, Wale Babalakin, Chairman, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services said if Nigeria intends to encourage private sector participation in the infrastructural development of the country it must abide by international regulations; government and its agencies must respect and abide by concession agreements.

    Babalakin denied the allegation that it was Bi-Courtney that drafted the concession agreement and also noted that the company was not the winner of the concession, but Royal Standerton, which was the preferred bidder; however, Bi-Courtney inherited the concession when the later could not meet the pace of work expected by the federal government.

    Also speaking on behalf of FAAN, Monica Alphonse, the Deputy General Manager, Public Private Partnership, said that GAT has never been part of the concession agreement and that the monopoly status that stated that no other airport terminal should be developed during the course of the concession period by BASL may have taken cognizance of the fact that the concession was for 12 years.

    Alphonse described such clauses that gave BASL such advantage as antitrust and pro-monopoly, adding that the agreement should have been renegotiated if the concession was designed for 36 years and noted, that “such agreement is repugnant to natural justice.”

    She said that FAAN was willing to ensure that the problem between it and BASL over the concession was resolved. BASL officials also spoke in the same vein.

  • Stakeholders urge FG to beef up security at Lagos airport

    Stakeholders urge FG to beef up security at Lagos airport

    Stakeholders in the aviation sector have called on the Federal Government to beef up security at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, following recent alleged poaching of aircraft and stealing of baggage.

    They said on Monday in Lagos that security was the bottom line of aviation, hence the need to urgently address the issue.

    Mr Olayinka Abioye, General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees ( NUATE ), noted that such incidents were not good for the image of the country.

    “This is not a good story for the country.

    “We know that no outsider can come into the airport except maybe people that have been disengaged or maybe workers that are presently working at the airport but are being owed salaries and benefits.

    “Imagine a worker working in a security company, earning N40, 000 as salary, is approached by a passenger with 1,000 dollars to smuggle an illegal substance into an aircraft.

    Read also: Truck hits Air Peace aircraft at Lagos Airport 

    “Some of them will do the dirty job willingly but when such workers are given commensurate remuneration and benefits, they will not be easily enticed,” he said.

    Abioye urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA ) to immediately invite all the security service providers to a round table where their operations could be properly reviewed.

    Also, the President of the Aviation Round Table (ART), Mr Gbenga Olowo, said there was need to centralised security at the airport and also deployed technology in strategic areas.

    “Today, we have Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN ), Immigration, Air Force, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ), Directorate of State Security ( DSS ) and Police

    “We should centralised security at the airports. ART has been talking about this for some time because we must take the best model of aviation security by removing it from many hands.

    “We should stop these various agencies from setting up their individual desks. So, we should centralise security and deploy technology.

    “When you deploy technology, you don’t need a separate counter for narcotics or DSS because once you get to immigration, all your details will be there,” he said.

    NAN

  • Police debunk alleged poaching of aircraft at Lagos airport

    Police debunk alleged poaching of aircraft at Lagos airport

    The Murtala Muhammed Airport , Lagos, Police Command, has debunked the recent allegations of poaching of aircrafts and stealing of baggage at the airport leveled against its personnel.

    The command’s spokesman, DSP Joseph Alabi said on Friday in Lagos that the allegations could not be substantiated by those making them.

    The two incidents of alleged poaching were recently reported, the latest being that which was said to have occurred on a chartered flight from Uyo to Lagos on December 26.

    However, Alabi said the command, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN ) and other security agencies, were still investigating the alleged incidents.

    Read also: Truck hits Air Peace aircraft at Lagos airport

    According to him, so far, the purported victims have failed to appear before the inter-agency committee and have also not lodged any complaint with the police.

    He said: “if anything of such happens at the airport, the victim is expected to report it to the police, but nobody has come to us to make any such report.

    “We have our officers who patrol the airside with the FAAN security operatives and it is practically impossible for anyone to burgle an aircraft in motion as being alleged.’’

    Alabi urged travelers and other airport users not to fret over the allegations, stressing that the command was adequately prepared and equipped to guarantee their security, especially during this festive season.

    NAN

  • FAAN to begin repairs on Enugu Airport runway

    FAAN to begin repairs on Enugu Airport runway

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN ) said on Thursday that it will commence palliative repair of the runway of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

    According to the spokesperson of the authority , Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, the first phase of the repairs will commence December 14, 2017 and extend till December 21, 2017 , while the second phase will commence December 27, 2017 and extend till January 4, 2018.

    Yakubu said flight operations at Enugu Airport will be skeletal during the period of the runway repairs from the hours of 0700 hours to 1500 hours on the proposed dates.

    She said the affected airlines which operated into the airport have been communicated through notice to airmen .

    Yakubu said the restriction of flights at the designated time into the airport is to enable the contractor have ample day light working hours in order to obtain stable and even runway surface , while also completing the work within the stipulated time frame .

    She said :” In line with standards and recommended practices, FAAN has requested the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA) to issue a notice to air men in this regard .

    ” We apologize for any inconvenience this action might cause our highly esteemed customers . There will be skeletal operations at the airport while work is ongoing .”

  • NEMA urges state govts to rehabilitate Libyan returnees

    NEMA urges state govts to rehabilitate Libyan returnees

    National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged state governments of the federation to facilitate the rehabilitation of their indigenes, who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    The Director-General, NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja, made the call in Lagos on Tuesday while receiving 142 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    Maihajja, who was represented by Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, NEMA’s South-West Zonal Coordinator, stressed the need for every state to complement the efforts being made at the national and international levels to rehabilitate the returnees.

    The director-general, who noted that Edo and Osun had keyed into such the rehabilitation programme, called on more states to emulate them by offering assistance to the returnees from their states.

    Read also : 149 more Nigerians return from Libya

    Maihajja applauded the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) for facilitating the repatriation of the returnees and also providing assistance for their rehabilitation.

    The returnees arrived  Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 11.25p.m aboard a Nouvelair Airbus A320 aircraft with registration Number: TS-INA, comprising 52 adult females, 86 adult males, two children and two infants.

    The first batch of 245 returnees had earlier arrived at about 8.25p.m at the airport aboard an Afriqiyah Airbus 330-300 aircraft with registration Number 5A-ONR.

    The returnees were also received by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

    NAN

  • Elevators at Abuja airport undergoing repairs, says FAAN

    Elevators at Abuja airport undergoing repairs, says FAAN

    THE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said yesterday the elevators at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja are undergoing repairs.

    The reaction came after some of the aged, sick and disabled passengers complained of the difficulty of accessing the boarding area and the aircraft.

    Reacting to the complaint, the General Manager, Corporate Communications of FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu said: “The Escalators at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport are all functioning.

    “The lift that is unserviceable is being serviced right now and it will be available for use again very soon”.

    Also reacting to the complaints, the Chairman of Air Transport Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN) in Abuja, Emmanuel Kerri, said: “There are serviceable elevators at the Wing B but it are not working at the moment.

    “In Wing D, we don’t have challenge of escalators or elevator because the boarding area is not upstairs.”

    On how they convey the disabled and others who need assistance to boarding area, Kerri said: “We use the baggage area which is downstairs to convey the handicap and we don’t have problem conveying people to the aircraft.

    “Any sick person, aged or disabled person is boarded through the baggage area and the airlines are aware of that.”