The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria

  • Enhancing service delivery at airports

    To foster transparency, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) allowed airlines, concessionaires, passengers and other players to evaluate its operations at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. Correspondent KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.

    Collaboration among service providers and users at the airport has received a boost with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) second quarter stakeholders forum.

    The forum was another opportunity to foster a healthy relationship between the airport authority and users of its services.

    Users of airport facilities that attended the forum included airlines, ground handling companies, financial institutions, airport towing companies, eatery operators, security companies and car hire operators.

    FAAN Managing Director Saleh Dunoma said the forum was put together as an input-gathering measure for complaints, suggestions and feedback from users of services at the airports.

    Dunoma, who was represented by the Director of Operations, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, said it was only by getting feedback from airlines, passengers, concessionaires and other agencies that FAAN could improve its services.

    He said the forum was convened as one of the obligations outlined in its service charter: to meet quarterly to discuss issues of concern to the authority and fashion out solutions to them.

    Dunoma said discussion from a previous forum was yielding results. His words:“The goal of this forum is quality service delivery at airports. The greater percentage of customer airport experience is determined by agencies that have greater interface with passengers. This forum will help to analyse and evaluate contributions and responses received during the last quarter stakeholders meeting, which in turn enabled management to review the level of commitment with regard to actualising those contributions.

    “This is an important roadmap for the industry to ensure service improvement as a feedback mechanism.”

    Federal Govt’s response

    The National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer, SERVICOM, Presidency, Mrs Nnenna Akajimele, urged FAAN to continue to improve on services at airports in line with the provisions of the service delivery charter.

    Represented by Afolabi Joseph, the SERVICOM boss said the government was worried over mounting complaints about service failures at airports.

    This he said led to the installation of complaints kiosks and application at departure and arrival points at airports.

    The kiosks, he said, are to enable passengers and other airport users lodge complaints of service failures, which would be addressed within 72 hours.

    Interventions from Regional Manager, MMIA

    The Regional Manager, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Mrs Victoria Shin-Abba, said the forum could not have come at a better time when nations across the globe were engaging airport users to improve service.

    She said the forum has put FAAN in a position for self-audit where its customers and users of facilities at the airport can benefit.

    Gains from the forum

    Mrs Shin-Abba said FAAN has concluded plans to procure NEEDS scanners for the airport. The decision to procure the sophisticated equipment, she said, arose from feedback the authority got from airport users who complained of cumbersome process of screening.

    She said the NEEDS scanners would  help to detect narcotics, liquids, food and ammunition that may be brought to the airport. Such equipment, she said, is in use at some airports across the globe.

    She said: “This engagement with stakeholders is assisting FAAN to improve service delivery. We have observed that with the installation of the proposed NEEDS scanners, we could reduce person to person interface during passenger screening and resultantly reduce the tendency for extortion of passengers by airport security personnel.

    “With such equipment the security personnel does not have direct interface with passenger to warrant extortion of any sort.”

    Issues arising from previous forum

    FAAN NODAL Officer and General Manager, Customer Services, Mrs Ebele Okoye, said the forum provided an opportunity for the authority to deliver feedback to its management on grey areas in its operations.

    She listed issues raised in the last forum to include the need to put in place a service level agreement; abandonment of meeters and greeters facility at the airport; electricity fluctuations; agencies’ lack of condition of service which enables personnel to solicit for tips; and provision of vehicles and gadgets for security agencies.

    Others include poor quality public announcement and better management of protocol services; the  unfavourable pay as you go process introduced for car hire operators, lack of shuttle buses for passengers at the domestic wing, delays and cancelation of flights by airlines, improvement of facilities such as barriers, scanners and aces control and training of staff; and stakeholders relationship improvement.

    Resolution of the issue

    Mrs Okoye said some of the issues were being resolved, including the preparation of service level agreement by FAAN’s legal team; which she said would be made public as soon as it is ready.

    She said: “Training for public announcement staff and public address system is already worked on to enhance efficiency.

    “FAAN is in constant talks with airlines to resolve issues arising from flight cancellation and whenever it happens they have to communicate to concerned passengers.

    “Arrangement is in place to procure NEEDS scanners for detection of hard drugs, ammunition and food.”

    Fresh complaints from stakeholders

    Stakeholders drew FAAN’s attention to a myriad of challenges at the airports, including lack of air field lighting at some airports; closure of the central taxi way at the Lagos Airport and difficulty in getting on-duty cards for airport personnel.

    Others include: delay in baggage arrival; enforcement of towing laws around the airport; putting adequate signage at airport car parks; inadequate automated teller machines at sections of the airport beyond screening points; poor telecommunications network; protection from unruly passengers; installation of adequate close circuit television cameras around the airports and faulty weighing scales at airlines’ counters.

  • Sallah: FAAN assures airport users of safety

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has assured   airport users that airports under its management are fully ready to play host to air travelers during this Sallah celebrations.

    General Manager, Corporate Affairs of the authority, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu disclosed this on Tuesday.

    Yakubu said maintenence of conveyor belts and escalators at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos have been completed and functioning optimally.

    Besides, she said airport security and other logistics have been upgraded and strengthened to provide for the expected increase in passenger traffic in and around our airports.

    She said: “As part of our commitment to ensure seamless facilitation of our highly esteemed passengers during the Sallah celebrations and beyond, the VIP Protocol lounges at both the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and General Aviation Terminal, Lagos, have been refurbished to give maximum comfort and value to our customers.

    Read Also: FAAN goes for modern scanners to boost security at airports

    “In anticipation of traffic surge owing to the season, Management is set to open the Departure Hall at the Terminal D of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to ease facilitation formalities of departing passengers at the airport before the celebrations.

    “We have also installed new directional display units to guide travellers, especially new ones, at our airports.

    “While we advise the general public and intended travellers to make early preparations towards completing their travel requirements in good time, we will also like to re-state that receiving of dignitaries at restricted areas by security agents and airport officials is prohibited and anyone found wanting will be apprehended and prosecuted.”

  • FAAN goes for modern scanners to boost security at airports

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has ordered for modern scanners to boost security at airports in the country.

    The General Manager, Customer Services, FAAN, Mrs Ebele Okoye, disclosed this at the Second Quarter Stakeholders Forum held at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Tuesday.

    The stakeholders present at the forum included the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Police Force and the Directorate of State Services.

    Others are the Nigeria Air Force, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian airlines and airport cab operators amongst others.

    Okoye said the “NEED Scanner” was capable of doing specific jobs such as detection of hard drugs, ammunition and food.

    She said: “Arrangements have been made to bring these scanners to Nigeria. They are different from what we have presently because they can detect anything inside a baggage without manual checks.

    Read Also: Rage over states’ airport projects

    “Our goal is to reduce interface between passengers and officials of agencies at the airport in order to curb corrupt practices and also improve service delivery at our airports.”

    According to her, the forum is one of the obligations of FAAN as outlined in the reviewed FAAN Service Charter and it is aimed at improving relationship between FAAN and the stakeholders.

    The Managing Director of FAAN, Mr Saleh Dunoma, represented by FAAN’s Director of Operations, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, said the cordial relationship between FAAN and the stakeholders must be sustained for efficient and effective service delivery.

    “I enjoin us to join hands together to uplift our airports so that we can achieve our mission statement of being among the best airport groups in the world.

    “This forum is to ensure that the cordial relationship that existed is strengthened so as to achieve excellence at all times.

    “This is an important road map for us in the aviation industry to ensure service improvement as feedback mechanism,” he said.

    On her part, Mrs Victoria Shin-Aba, General Manager, MMIA,  said FAAN was constantly seeking ways to improve customer service, especially with the  recent inauguration of a feedback application  at the airport.

    Shin-Aba noted that the app, an initiative of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), would give passengers and the general public opportunity to register their complaints or commend the quality of services being rendered by government agencies at the airports.

    “The application also gives assurance that such complaints will be attended to and resolved within 72hours, in line with the provisions of Executive Order 1 of the Federal Government of Nigeria,” she said.

    NAN

  • Ebola: FAAN intensifies screening at Abuja airport

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has intensified screening for Ebola and other communicable diseases following the recent outbreak of the disease.

    FAAN also said screenings never stopped at any of the airports to detect any communicable diseases including Ebola since its first outbreak in 2014.

    FAAN said it decided to increase the degree of the screening after the outbreak of the disease again in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has left 27 people dead.

    The Nation monitored the screening process of international passengers from Kigali on board RwandAir and Ethiopian airline.

    The temperature scanners installed at both the departure and arrival points at the International wing of the airports has two televisions to check the rise in temperature of passengers alongside handheld scanners.

    The Nation observed that the temperature was set at 36.9 degree and an official explained that any temperature higher than the one set would trigger off an alarm which would cause the officials to do a secondary check.

    At the arrival points, travel history of passengers were checked through their passport, the vaccination cards to check if the passengers received Cerebral Spinal Meningitis (CSM) vaccine , Polio and yellow fever vaccines.

    FAAN also said members of the public have no reason to panic adding that adequate measures have been put in place.

    Read Also: FAAN embraces digital payment system

    Speaking on the screening, the Regional Manager of FAAN, Sani Mahmud said: “We are at the alert phase of the outbreak. Since the first outbreak in 2014, we never stopped checking our passengers. They were always undergoing screening.”

    He also said the airport has not recorded any case of Ebola since the recent outbreak.

    Also speaking on the measures put in place, the

    Deputy General Manager and Head of Aviation Medical  Clinics for FAAN, Doctor Adamu Adamu said the airport has also upgraded it hygiene.

    On measures put in place at the airport to curb entry of Ebola and other communicable diseases, Adamu said: “Right now, we have public health emergency contingency plan at the airport which we have activated.

    “We are at the alert phase now and we are looking at rise in temperature, travel history basically and we have upgraded our sanitation generally at the airport in terms of toilets,  we have sanitizers installed at different areas to ensure that passengers that come into Nigeria have facilities to clean up their hands and also washing facilities at the toilet. We also have public health messaging .

    “We are sending out information on our Port Health  system to the airport on how to prevent communicable diseases because there is an ongoing Ebola outbreak outside the country and we are just trying to make sure that we don’t have an outbreak within the country.

    “We are doing this in conjunction with Port Health Services of ministry of health”, he said.

    On if anyone with high temperature has been detected so far, he said: “If the scanner detects anyone, the alarm would go off. The scanners have alarm that flags off any temperature that is above the threshold that we set but we have not had any major case of public concern.

    He also the scanner have the capacity to capture children.

    On the adequacy of the scanners, he said: “We have one at the International arrival and another one at the International departure.

    “All the internationals airports in Nigeria have it presently. We have in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano. Right now, we are focusing on international airports so as to prevent importation.”

    He added that the bulk of the work is for airport officials to be vigilant to detect anyone with any symptoms and imported hygiene.

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

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

    Begins fixing of Akure Airport collapsed perimeter fence

    Worried over  the rising spate of runway incursions at airports nationwide,  the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said on Tuesday that it is set to address the challenge by factoring construction of  airports’ perimeter fences in  2019 budget.

    The general manager public affairs FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu disclosed this in Lagos saying the authority is increasingly becoming 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, Akure Airport has perimeter fence, but 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 Akure airport to fix the collapsed section of the fence.
    As part of measures to strengthen the security of the airports across the country, Yakubu said  FAAN has stopped the renewal of On Duty Cards (ODCs) for former airline and FAAN workers to ensure strict personnel monitoring.

    According to her, cards renewal will be thoroughly scrutinized by the authority.

    Yakubu said security measures have been reviewed while 10 vehicles have been added to the ones on ground to enhance runway patrol in order to minimize aircraft runway attacks.

    While grass cutting has been stepped up  Yakubu said abandoned aircraft on the air side have been moved to the ‘mortuary ‘ , adding that those in Kano, Jos and Benin airports will be moved out soon in order to create space.

    She said aviation security personnel AVSEC have been working hard to ensure that the activities of touts and touting is curtailed.

  • 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

  • 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

  • Another 257 Nigerians arrive from Libya

    Another 257 Nigerians arrive from Libya

    A few hours after 144 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya, another aircraft carrying 257 of their compatriots on Wednesday landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    The spokesperson for the Lagos Airport Police Command, Mr Joseph Alabi, confirmed this in an interview in Lagos.

    Alabi said the returnees arrived aboard a Libyan Airlines aircraft at the Cargo Wing of the airport at about 1.30 a.m.

    He said they were assisted back to Nigeria by the International Organisation for Migration ( IOM ) and the European Union ( EU ) after being stranded in the volatile North African country enroute Europe.

    Alabi said “We received another batch of Nigerians early this morning from Libya.

    “They comprised of 65 adult females, 179 adult males, seven children and six infants.”

    He also confirmed that four of the returnees had medical cases and were promptly taken away on an ambulance for treatment.

    According to him, the returnees were received by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, Nigerian Immigration Service, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

    Report says another set of 144 Nigerians had arrived on Tuesday at about 6.45 p.m. aboard a chartered Buraq Airlines aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG.

    They were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by the Wife of the President, Haija Aisha Buhari, represented by the Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode.

    Also on ground to receive them was the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa and officials of other government agencies.

    Report also says the Federal Government said it has a record of 2,778 Nigerian migrants registered in “accessible” detention camps in Libya, ready for repatriation.

    The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement signed by the Spokesperson, Mr. Tiwatope Elias-Fatile on Tuesday, said the country’s embassy in Libya had been visiting detention camps to identify Nigerians for registration.

    The ministry stated that those registered were issued Emergency Travel Certificates.

    Read also: More Nigerians return from Libya

    The ministry also explained that the embassy, in collaboration with the IOM, repatriates 250 migrants weekly and had returned 3,000 of them so far.

    “From the 2,778 registered Nigerians who are still in detention camps, another set of 250 Nigerian migrants will be arriving on Tuesday December 5 via the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, at 7.00pm, to be received by NEMA officials.

    “The Embassy, in collaboration with the IOM, repatriates 250 Nigerian migrants by flight to Lagos weekly – each flight can accommodate only 250 passengers.

    “The repatriation is a continuous exercise and the Embassy routinely issues the requisite travel documents to the migrants.

    “The Embassy will continue to engage the legitimate government in Libya and other stakeholders in addressing the plight of Nigerian migrants in that country.”

    The ministry further said the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, had invited the Nigerian Embassy’s Head of Mission, Mr. Iliya Fachano, to Abuja for consultations.

    “He is in Abuja already and during the period of the consultations, arrangements have been made for him to address press conferences on the issue.

    NAN

  • 580 more Nigerians to return from Libya this week

    580 more Nigerians to return from Libya this week

    Barely three weeks after 138 Nigerians returned voluntarily from Libya, another 580 are being expected from the North African country, this week.

    DSP Joseph Alabi, the spokesperson for the Lagos Airport Police Command, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

    Alabi said that 420 Nigerians would arrive in the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Tuesday via two chartered flights while another 160 would come back on Thursday.

    NAN recalled that 138 Nigerians, on Oct. 3 returned from Libya where they had been stranded enroute Europe.

    The returnees were brought back on the expression of interest to return to Nigeria through the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    Their flight, with Registration No: 5ADM had touched down at the Cargo Wing of MMIA at about 8:05pm.

    The returnees comprised of 65 female adults, two teenage girls and two infants (baby girls) while the male adults were 64, two teenage boys and three infants (baby boys).

    Four of the returnees who had medical cases were evacuated upon arrival, for emergency treatment.

    They were received by the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Police. (NAN)