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Tag: FAAN

  • LASEMA partners FAAN on emergency management response

    LASEMA partners FAAN on emergency management response

    The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to collaborate on emergency management.

    The LASEMA General Manager, Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, said at the signing of the agreement yesterday in Lagos that the collaboration would enable the agency to provide necessary assistance and support during any emergency.

    “The epoch making event started with a team set up a year ago to look into the documents, regulations and statutory functions.

    “It was to ensure that all necessary issues were properly looked into for the mutual understanding of both parties involved,’’ Tiamiyu said in a statement by Mr Adebayo Kehinde, LASEMA Head of Public Affairs.

    The general manager commended FAAN for providing adequate security and safety at the airports in line with international standard.

    Tiamiyu, however, called on FAAN management to ensure easy passage of LASEMA operatives through the airport toll gates and corridors during emergency situations.

    “This would facilitate prompt respond to such unexpected events within the shortest time. A minute delay is not good for timely intervention during emergency,” he said.

    Also, Kehinde said in the statement that the two agencies would deploy resources to tackle emergency situations at the Lagos Airports.

    He said, “The two agencies agreed to collaborate in information gathering, equipment, materials and expertise that will assist FAAN and other relevant agencies.

    “This is aim at bringing any emergency within the five nautical miles of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMA) under control.”

    In her remarks, the Airport Manager, Mrs Victoria Shin-Aba, commended the Lagos State Government for taken a pro-active measure in disaster management.

    Shin-Aba said that the signing of the MoU would further deepen the existing relationship between the two organisations.

    She lauded LASEMA for her active participation and engagement during the emergency mock exercises organised by FAAN.

  • FAAN assures airport users, travelers of safety, comfort

    FAAN assures airport users, travelers of safety, comfort

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) yesterday assured air travelers and other airport users of safety, security and comfort at airports across the country during and after the independence anniversary.

    The General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Mrs Herrienta Yakubu, said in Lagos that necessary safety and security facilities needed to ensure movement of air travellers had been put in place.

    “Our aviation security, fire and other operations officers at the airports are fully ready to play host to our highly esteemed guests, who would be travelling through our network of airports at this period,” she said.

    She said  FAAN remains committed to its core values of safety, security and comfort.

    The Federal Government has announced Monday, October 2 as public holiday to mark the anniversary.

  • FAAN, NAMA, Edo partner to improve airport

    FAAN, NAMA, Edo partner to improve airport

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) have expressed readiness to partner Edo State government to improve facilities and safety at Benin Airport.

    FAAN Managing Director Mr. Saleh Dunoma, NAMA Chief Executive Capt. Fola Akinkuotu and Governor Godwin Obaseki agreed on the partnership after inspecting facilities at the airport yesterday.

    The governor said his administration was committed to utilisation of resources to reconstruct the airport.

    He said the tour of the airport was to assess its potential for elevation to a standard that would boost economic activities.

    “We have approached FAAN and NAMA to assist us in improving structural outlook and facilities of the airport.

    “We have agreed that the plan is to first upgrade the facilities by deploying right landing facilities.

    “This will ensure the airport is run for 24 hours. This will encourage more planes to come into the state to build the required traffic,” Obaseki said.

    He said the state would work with the two agencies to expand airport’s space before end of the year.

    The governor said the airport’s land encroached on by grabbers would be recovered, adding, however, that occupants with genuine certificates of occupancy would be compensated.

    Dunoma said it was the responsibility of FAAN to maintain the airport.

    He noted that the commitment shown by the government to reconstruct the airport was legendary.

    Dunoma said: “I thank the governor for showing the direction. With this partnership, we can do a lot more to bring Benin Airport to full operation.

    “We have inspected the facilities and will submit a report on what we need to do to improve safety and facilities at the airport.

    Akinkuotu said joint effort was needed to improve standard at the airport, adding that collaboration with the government would help achieve it.

  • FAAN saves N500m from local training

    FAAN saves N500m from local training

    Over N500 million has been saved by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from its in-house training programme for its staff across airports in the last one year, its General Manager, training, Mr. Nath McAbraham Inajoh, has said.

    The huge sum would have been paid to its 5000 workers as duty tour allowance for the period.

    He said the in-house training system had to be adopted as  the management was reluctant in embarking on any training due to paucity of funds.

    “Between 2013 and 2017, it’s been tough training in FAAN because of the economic situation and the panic I had was how do you supervise a department that is not doing anything because of paucity of funds, so we put our heads together and made a proposal to management and we said okay, what is the problem when its comes to the training, we discovered it was cost.

    “In government, when you pay a consultant N3 million for a two-day programme and you have a class of 30 staff, you are going to pay the staff around N7 million for DTA’s. The cost of that training is N10 million, when the management sees N10 million, they would back off, the better part1 of the cost I saw was actually the allowances that go to staff. So, how do you manage that.”

    Inajoh said while operating on a zero budget, they ensured that no staff was taken out for the whole day to avoid paying them anything.

    “The book says when you take a staff out for a one day training, there is a stipulated amount you are going to pay the staff multiply by the number of the days you are going to take the staff out and depending on the location. We decided to come up with an in- house  training programme when staff are not paid DTA  what did we do, we were not taking them out for the whole day, we were taking them out for three hours.”

    Inajoh explained that for staff outside Lagos, they solicited the support of the airport manager for a return ticket and accommodation for its training facilitators to train all staff without any fee.

    “On staff outside of Lagos, we spoke to the airport managers and said look, we are operating a zero budget but this is what you can do for us, we want a return ticket for facilitators of the training department, give them a place to stay and train all the staff in your airport without any fee, we have trained around the 22 airports”.

    The GM training FAAN observed that the system had assisted the organization and the trainees in various ways, adding that in a recession period one can either be defensive or offensive.

    According to him, operational survival, process audit cost cutting, advertising and open communication are strategies management can adopt to survive.

    “Looking at what we did, at the end of the day, it added up to over half a billion Naira in one year of running of the programme, so how do you cope with the recession, try to be more creative and the  you will be amazed at the things you will be able to come up with”.

     

  • NCAA certifies Lagos Airport

    NCAA certifies Lagos Airport

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has certified the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The certification came after many years of work to ensure compliance with international standards and regulations.

    A certificate endorsing the safety rating was handed over to the Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma, by the Director- General of NCAA, Capt. Usman Mukthar.

    The General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu disclosed this to The Nation on Monday.

    She said the certificate for the Lagos airport safety endorsement would be formally handed over to the Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, in Abuja Tuesday.

     

  • Airport certification’ll cut insurance premium, says FAAN MD

    Airport certification’ll cut insurance premium, says FAAN MD

    Insurance premium charged operators in the Nigerian aviation sector ranks among the highest in the world. However, certification of aerodromes would reduce the huge premium, says Airport Council International(ACI) President, Saleh Dunoma.

    The certification will also boost  confidence of the aviation community to fly into the airports.

    The certification of the airports is based on safety and it is required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to restore its  confidence to international airline operators in the airports.

    Dunoma said there were some open items that must to be closed, stressing that some of them have to do with procedures.

    For instance, if you say you have Category Nine fire service, you must make sure you have it at such category, in terms of equipment, number of people, in terms of your documentation and your processes.

    “So, if there are gaps in that, you have to make sure you close them. There are so many of them in so many areas.

    “On the airfield, we have those that have do with the airfield lightings and the runway itself, on personnel, documentation, training, and on maintenance. There are so many covering the entire aspect of airport operations. As we speak, there are only few of them that needed to be closed”.

    Dunoma, who is also the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), listed funds constraints as one of the challenges the agency faced in the certification processes. He noted that at the beginning, they thought they might not need much resources but at the end of the day, after the assessment, they discovered that they had a lot to do.

    The only thing, he stated that they needed to do was to make provisions in their budget as special fund to address the certification, adding that once they got the assessment and the fund provided, their engineers will swing into action.

    The engineers, he disclosed, came with the estimate of how some of the technical issues, some of the documentation and some of the new things they need to provide to make sure that they close the gaps

    He said as far as ACI is concerned, they are getting ready and would make sure that they comply with all standards given to them by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA).

    He said: “Certification is important. We would not know that there are lot of things-little things that we needed to do to make sure that we close all such items.

    “Without the assessment, we would never know that there are open items. With certification, everything was looked into, including documentation, sometimes, a telephone number for example in the emergency contact telephone numbers.”

    He reiterated that certification is making sure that everything is current and checked on regular basis.

    “It is not only getting the certificate but sustenance of the certificate is important. Yes, we have worked hard that we close the items, but we must sustain it.

    “Also, what is important is the currency in terms of training of personnel. We must make sure that all personnel are properly trained. If you acquire an equipment, for example, we must make sure that people that will operate the machine are trained on that particular machine”.

  • FAAN: no bomb scare at airport

    FAAN: no bomb scare at airport

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) yesterday refuted claim of a bomb scare at the Hajj/Cargo axis of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    It said people mistook an unclaimed bag at the terminal for a bomb.

    The Police Bomb Disposal Unit, FAAN said, detonated the bag when nobody came to claim its ownership.

    In a statement, FAAN Acting General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu advised passengers to keep their belongings close to them when undergoing profiling and check in procedures.

    Yakubu said: “The FAAN wishes to refute a rumoured bomb scare at the Hajj and Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport today, Tuesday 08 August 2017.

    “At about 9:30am, an unattended bag was noticed at the Hajj and Cargo terminal, after the departure of the fourth flight for intending pilgrims.”

    She said the Chief Security Officer of the Hajj and Cargo Terminal and the Bomb Disposal Unit were contacted. They searched for the bag owner to no avail she said.

    FAAN said: “No one claimed ownership of the bag, so the decision to blow it up using an explosive device was made, which in turn caused some panic among the second batch of intending pilgrims waiting.

    “After detonation, it was discovered that the bag contained some copies of an Islamic guide meant for pilgrims to guide them with regards to their journey.

    “Passengers are advised to be cautious of their belongings, and ensure that all properties are securely kept.

    “The Authority would like to assure the general public that there was no Bomb and the Hajj and Cargo Terminal is safe, secure for flight operations.”

    A source told our correspondent that the bag had been at the spot since Monday evening when some pilgrims from Lagos State arrived.

    The bag contained booklets distributed to pilgrims by the Lagos State Pilgrims Welfare Board (LSMPWB) before their trip to Saudi Arabia.

    The remaining booklets should have been returned to the board but were left behind by its officials.

    Lagos Airport Police Command Commissioner Basan Gwana assured the public and pilgrims of maximum safety during and after the hajj.

    “They should be rest assured of their safety and as you can see the hajj operations are going on smoothly.

    “As you can see, the scene has been cordoned off and I have directed my men to investigate and furnish me with the report.

    “You can see that this batch of pilgrims is undergoing procedure for their flight that will take off today,” he said.

    The commissioner said policemen had been deployed across the airport to prevent any untoward situation.

    He said other airports also have security arrangements with Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD) personnel to ensure that pilgrims were checked before boarding their flight.

  • No explosion at Lagos airport – FAAN

    No explosion at Lagos airport – FAAN

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said on Tuesday there was no explosion at the Hajj /Cargo axis of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    FAAN said the anxiety and palpable fear created around the terminal in the early hours of Tuesday was caused by an unattended bag, which was blown up by the Police Bomb Disposal Unit, when nobody claimed ownership of the bag.

    In a statement, the Acting General Manager, Public Affairs at FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, advised passengers to keep their belongings close to them when undergoing profiling and check in procedures at the airport.

    Yakubu said: “The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria wishes to refute rumoured bomb scare at the Hajj and Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, today, Tuesday, August 8, 2017.

    “At about 9:30 a.m., an unattended bag was noticed at the Hajj and Cargo terminal, after the departure of the fourth flight for the intending pilgrims.”

    She said the Chief Security Officer of FAAN at Hajj and Cargo Terminal as well as the Bomb Disposal Unit were contacted and began the process of finding out the owner and the content of the bag.

    Yakubu added: “No one claimed ownership of the bag, so the decision to blow up the bag using an explosive device was made, which in turn caused some panic amongst the second batch of intending pilgrims waiting.

    “After detonation, it was discovered that the bag contained some copies of an Islamic guide; meant for pilgrims to guide them with regards to their journey.

    “Passengers are advised to be cautious of their belongings, and ensure that all properties are securely kept.

    “The Authority would like to assure the general public that there was no bomb and the Hajj and Cargo Terminal is safe, secure for flight operations.”

     

  • 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.

  • FAAN rejigs security  arrangement at airports 

    FAAN rejigs security  arrangement at airports 

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) yesterday effected a new inward and outward security arrangement at the nation’s ports.

    This is in line with the recent Executive Order signed by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to sanitize operations at air and sea ports across the country.

    Under the new dispensation announced by FAAN’s Acting General Manager, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, only the personnel of the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS), Nigerian Customs Services (NCS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), State Security Services (SSS), Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit (EOD) and Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS) are allowed to interface with passengers at the  airports.

    Mrs.Yakubu, in a notice to airlines, passengers and the general public, said only the NIS and  NDLEA “ will now operate at arrival and departure halls,” while the customs will operate at the arrival hall only.

    Similalrly,the  SSS and NAQS will operate at the cargo terminals only, while the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit (EOD) will operate at the baggage hall.

    She said all officers must be fully kitted at all times with their name tags conspicuously visible and must remain within the confines of their responsibilities.

    She said : “The management advise all affected agencies to ensure strict compliance.”