Tag: ICAO

In a few weeks, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will visit Nigeria to carry out the  Universal Safety Oversight Audit . How prepared is Nigeria for the exercise? Stakeholders and the agencies, analysts submit, must close ranks to ensure Nigeria scales the hurdle, writes KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR

How prepared  is Nigeria  for the audit of its civil aviation oversight and safety management  system?  This will be known in a few weeks  when the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) arrives  in the country  to  carry out its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).

Under the programme, a  country’s aviation system is examined and identified deficiencies corrected.

In 2006, when a similar audit was carried out, some lapses were identified which  experts say  the  authorities need to close.

There were  follow-up audits of the Lagos and Abuja airports in 2008 and 2010, which were intended to close the safety and operational deficiencies identified in 2006.

The  Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), are closing ranks in  providing infrastructure, operational procedures and other safety management measures to ensure that Nigeria scales the hurdle.

The agency’s cooperation is crucial to improving the audit  conducted  in 2006 which identified   some deficiencies.

Part of the deficiencies include improved perimeter fencing at airports nationwide, certification of some international airports as well as putting in place of safety management systems in all airport and airline operations.

Some experts are worried that sufficient infrastructure has not been put in place as it affects airport perimeter fencing, airside and aerodrome safety security with the recurring incidence of stowaway at Nigerian airports.

But the  NCAA has assured that plans are in place to scale the hurdles of the ICAO’s audit.

Its Director-General, Captain  Mukhtar  Usman,  said  requisite measures were being put in place for a successful outing.

Usman said ICAO has written to Nigeria to carry out a safety audit of airports by the second quarter of the year.

He said: “ICAO will be conducting an aviation safety audit of Nigerian airports by June this year and I want to assure that we are prepared for it.

“We have already put in place a regime of robust regulations for the audit. This is mandatory because we intend to improve on our safety records. We have started preparing our equipment and manpower to scale through. Even our regulations are being reviewed to bring them in line with modern trends. Nigeria is ready for the audit.

“The aim of the audit is to ensure that the airports across Nigeria are operating in line with international (best) practices.”

Usman assured that the country’s airports are safe, despite the recurring incidence of stowaway affirming that such incidents happen across the world.

NCAA has assured stakeholders and professionals in the country’s aviation industry that it would scale the audit scheduled to commence soon.

The agency also said all the processes to ensure success in USOAP  are being followed to the letter.

Besides, NCAA disclosed that plans were underway to certify at least two of the country’s five international airports before the end of this year.

According to Usman, the regulator is fully prepared for the forthcoming audit, stressing that all the processes to be followed by the regulatory body are judiciously being followed to ensure a successful outing.

He listed some of the processes to include manpower, assignment of responsibilities and equipment within all the concerned airports.

He said: “Whatever we need would be made available and this time around, we want to make sure that we perform higher than how we have performed in the past.”

The last ICAO audit in the industry was in November 2006 where the sector, according to ICAO, scored over 90 per cent in the audit.

He said: “The ICAO USOAP was established in accordance with strategic objective A3 to conduct aviation safety oversight audits to identify deficiencies and encourage their resolutions by contracting states. The programme is managed by ICAO  Safety Audit Oversight Section.

“Work has reached advanced stage in those two airports and we hope that sooner than you think, they will be certified.

”As you are aware, our industry has gone through ICAO audit before and we did excellently well. Therefore, on the heels of an accident free year 2014, we are primed to excel again.”

He, however, assured that the regulatory authority would not rest on its oars as during the year, it has been very proactive and a regime of robust regulation is in place.

“We are fully prepared for the impending audits; NCAA therefore appeals to all stakeholders including the media to join hands with us to ensure a successful audit.

“I therefore want to assure you that the NCAA has continued to strengthen our regulatory responsibilities and capacity in all areas.

“Other measures taken by the NCAA are to embark on a specific security audit of the airlines,” he said.

All airlines have therefore been advised to ensure increased security presence around their aircraft when not in operation. This should be done round the clock, stressing that the  policy of the aviation regulator is to continue to work with all relevant stakeholders in the industry to ensure safe, secure and comfortable flight operations in Nigeria,

On its part, FAAN said it is prepared for the audit.

Its spokesman, Mr Yakubu Dati said the authority has put necessary measures in place for a good outing.

Speaking  on behalf of FAAN’s Managing Director, Saleh Dunoma, he said: ”Our safety and security infrastructure has been reinvigorated and fine tuned. Furthermore, the various airports had embarked on mock drills to ascertain our emergency capabilities. This highly successful drills is also a critical requirement for certification.

“The authority is recruiting young and vibrant personnel to strengthen  manpower. Training and retraining is also being prioritised in the area of safety.”

On its part, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) said it is working hard to ensure a good outing for the audit .

Its  Managing Director,  Mr Ibrahim Abdulsalam said the airspace agency is fully set for the audit.

Its Acting General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Olajumoke Adetona, said: ”NAMA is preparing hard for the universal safety audit in many ways.  The agency 10 years ago, established a safety management system manned by well-trained safety management systems officers in all its stations across the nation.

“More safety management system trainings are being planned for this year.

“All Safety Management Systems Standard Operating Procedures are documented and strictly adhered to, for safe, efficient, effective and economic air navigation services to airspace users through the deployment of new technologies and a dedicated workforce.”

But, aviation security expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd),said the level of preparedness of Nigeria for the audit would be determined by the response received from the external safety auditors on the documents or records submitted by Nigerian aviation agencies.

Ojikutu said: ”Are we ready for the ICAO security audit? Our readiness would be based on national aviation security programme, including crisis management for meeting the challenges of global threats and prevailing national threats.

“The audit ought to cover selected operators including FAAN and domestic airlines. It should look at the training and quality control programmes, the security programmes for access control and screening methods for all persons and vehicles, not only for passengers and staff, but methods of issuing access passes for staff and passengers and for carrying out baggage checks on staff working in restricted areas at the airport.

“It would also look at marking or remarking security areas, differentiating perimeter fencing from security fencing at airports. Other areas of interest would include airline security programmes which borders on aircraft security programme.

“Arik Air security programme may be of interest to the auditors as the dominant domestic and international carrier.

“The auditors would like to know if the airline has reviewed its security programme in collaboration with FAAN in view of recent stowaway incidents. Whether we are ready depends on what documents or records in these areas reveal to the auditors.

“The auditors would want to know how many times has the NCAA issued security directives to operators for raising the baseline of the approved security programmes.”

Only last year, Nigeria and 11 other countries were  named countries with effective implementation of safety exceeding global average in a result released by the ICAO, Africa –Indian Ocean (AFI) USOAP.

ICAO, Director, Air Navigation Bureau, Nancy Graham, said the special AFI USOAP was launched by ICAO in 2005.

The Federal Government has said  it will not abolish payment of royalties by foreign carriers on commercial and bilateral air services agreements.

Rather, it is going to review commercial agreements to enable it earn more revenue in view of falling oil prices.

Part of the new arrangement will include payment of a new fee on air agreements that would profit the country more than mere royalties.

The revenues expected from the review will position the aviation sector as strategic and make it to contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka said the review would bring more revenue for government compared to what was paid into the Federation Account from royalties by foreign carriers.

He did not say how much is expected from the new payment regime for commercial air agreements from foreign carriers.

There are about 27 foreign carriers operating into Nigeria with some enjoying more than a single entry.

The airlines include: British Airways; Lufthansa; Emirates; Air France/ KLM; South African Airways; Ethiopian Airlines; Egypt Air and Turkish Airlines.

Chidoka said the new arrangement would generate new revenue for government to address key infrastructure issues in the aviation sector.

He said government decided to come up with the review as part of efforts to explore areas where the  sector could fetch more money.

Chidoka said government is aware of the directive by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requesting member states to further liberalise air transport by abolishing the collection of royalties.

Government, he said, is studying the ICAO directive to ensure that Nigeria maximises the inherent potentials of its air transport agreements.

Chidoka said: “Government has not abolished the payment of royalties on commercial air agreements. What government is putting in place is a new payment regime that would not be called royalties. Foreign carriers operating into Nigeria will still pay for agreements in an arrangement to be worked out by government.

“It is not that foreign airlines operating into Nigeria will stop paying. The Federal Government is changing the mode of  payments. So, we are waiting to put that in place.

“So, we have extended the commercial agreement to March this year. So they are still paying and they will keep paying till March this year pending when we replace it with a fee that gets Nigeria more income from this strategic asset. That is what our commercial air agreements are to Nigeria. It is a natural asset.

“So, we are trying to make sure that as foreign airlines lift passengers from Nigeria, government will get more resources from such operation. The idea is to ensure that government earns more revenue that we are getting under the commercial agreements. For now, foreign carriers are still paying  royalties to government till March , after that  time it will be reviewed.”

Nigeria has over 78 bilateral, multi lateral and commercial agreements with many countries.

Conservative estimates put earnings from  such commercial and bilateral agreements at about $25 million annually.

Industry experts say the $25 million accruing annually from such agreements is paltry and urge the government to carry out a review to earn more revenue.

Some experts say government could earn as much as N30 billion annually if it introduces slot allocation system at major international airports.

Slot is a system whereby the airport management sells landing time and space to an airline for extra slots in addition to the existing frequency agreement between the country that owns the airline and Nigeria.

The Ministry of Aviation last year informed foreign carriers of plans to stop the collection of royalties, a development that  drew the ire of some experts in the sector.

The Ministry had earlier set October 27, last year as the implementation date, but later postponed it to March this year.

Domestic operators, acting under the aegis of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), have urged the government to design new measures that would earn it more revenue from the billions carted way by foreign carriers.

In particular, the operators say a review of all commercial air agreements is long overdue, arguing that airlines granted multiple entry points into Nigeria should be made to pay heavily for their operations.

Airlines enjoying multiple entry points into Nigeria include British Airways; Air France / KLM; Virgin Atlantic Airways; Lufthansa German Airlines; Emirates; Egypt Air; Ethiopian Airlines and Turkish Airlines.

Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd) described the proposed review of commercial agreement as long overdue.

He said it is impressive that government has realised that it is losing revenue as the royalties paid by foreign carriers are inadequate compared to the money they make in the country.

He said Nigeria is not gaining enough from the 78 bilateral air services agreements it signed with many countries.

Ojikutu called for a reversal to the single entry point in Nigeria for foreign carriers in line with the principle of reciprocity under which such agreements are signed.

Experts, however, argued that more money could be earned if governments introduce slot allocation system at airports for foreign carriers.

Only indigenous carriers will be given “ grand father rights “, priority.

Other carriers are expected to apply for and pay to get landing and take off rights at major international airports.

Aviation experts such as Mr Chris Aligbe, aviation economist, Mr Taiwo Adenekan  and Managing Director, Medview Airlines, Alhaji Muneer Bankole  have canvassed slot allocation system for foreign carriers as a window to generate revenue for government.

They said the revenue lost to the abolition of royalties and commercial agreements could be regained if the slot allocation system is adopted.

Slot allocation system, according Aligbe,  is  the right granted by an airport owner, which allows the slot holder to schedule a landing or departure during a specific time.

He said: “A landing slot, takeoff slot, or airport slot is a right granted by an airport owner which allows the slot holder to schedule a landing or departure during a specific time period.

“Landing slots are allocated in accordance with guidelines set down by the IATA’s Worldwide Airport Slots Group. All airports worldwide are categorised.

“Allocated landing slots may have a commercial value and can be traded between airlines.

“If an airline doesn’t use an allocated  slots  then it could lose the rights. Airlines may operate ghost or empty flights to preserve slot allocations.

“We should go ahead and create a slot allocation system and move away from bilateral air services  agreements (BASA) and royalties because BASA royalties is a disappearing phenomenon that will become anachronistic in many places and they tell us it is commercial, they have transferred earning from BASA to slots.”

Aligbe insisted that payment for royalty or demand for royalty is becoming outdat­ed and no longer obtainable in the industry.

Rather  than depend on royalties arising from the commercial agreement,  the government should commence slot allocation systems for airlines operating into Nigeria.

He argued that in today’s global aviation industry, players are requesting for open skies, multiple designations, instead of dual designations and freer air, adding that as a result of open skies agreements, none of the United States (U.S) airlines operating into the country pays royalty to the Nigerian government.

He argued that with effective slot allocation  system, the Nigerian government would earn much more revenue from the system than it is presently earning through commercial agreements from airlines.

He said: “What has come into place now is slot allocation system and the money made from slot, if we have one will be 10 times more than the royalties that we are currently getting from the airlines. In Europe and America, they have created slot as a quota system based on the argument that they have congestion and that slot has become very difficult to get.

“That was why when Arik Air applied to London from Abuja,  it was asked to pay for a pair of slot, the sum of 9,000 pounds daily. This  means if you are going to fly seven times a week; that is 9,000 pounds times seven weekly.

“Royalties should be phased out completely and we should put in place the slot system. Even in the books of airlines, the Lloyds did a study on European airlines, the money they earn from the secondary sales of slots is beginning to enter their account books. Some of them make now over 30 million and 60 million pounds. That is even the airlines and not the airport itself in secondary trade of slots”.

Experts say Nigeria could make about N30 billion annually from slot allocation to foreign airlines as an alternative to royalties paid on BASA.

The accruals will come from extra frequencies given to the airlines as many of them operate from different entry points in the country.

For example, when Arik Air wanted to fly from Abuja to London, the airport management in London, the British Airports Authority (BAA) insisted the Nigerian airline should pay for slot amounting £250,000 (N63, 098, 225) per schedule (there are Summer, Winter, Autumn and Spring schedules) which is equivalent to quarter of a year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK and Nigeria have bilateral agreement that offered 14 frequencies to both countries, so while British Airways utilises seven frequencies between London and Lagos a week; Virgin Atlantic utilises the remaining seven frequencies between Lagos and London per week.

The federal government allocated only seven frequencies to Arik Air, which it is using for its Lagos to London operation. So when it wanted to operate from Abuja to London, BAA demanded the aforementioned sum of money per quarter of a year.

So in the event Nigeria introduces slot allocation, these foreign airlines will start paying fees for the extra frequencies they operate from different airports in the country. For example, Ethiopian Airlines will be paying for slot to Enugu, Abuja and Kano, while Air France will pay for slot in Port Harcourt and Abuja; the same with Lufthansa and other airlines that operate into more than one airport in the country.

The difference between slot and frequencies allocated on BASA is that the latter is periodic; it could be for a quarter, for a season etc, but BASA allocated frequencies could last for over 10 years, until both countries agree to review the BASA.

Before now Nigeria was making about $25 million from the royalties paid on BASA annually (about N4,125,000,000), but now every country will have to migrate to slot allocation, which nullifies the old system of payment of royalties.

Industry operators said the sale of slot allocation would multiply the earnings from royalties and could accrue to N30 billion annually.

The CEO of Belujane Konsult, an aviation consulting firm, Chris Aligbe said Nigeria could be generating so much money if it had adopted the slot allocation system.

“The critical issue in this country is that we should create slot allocation system. If we create it, the money we will make from slot will be almost 10 times the money we will be making from BASA and that is the truth. Nigeria can sell slots, they can sell it in a season, the next season they take it back. They can sell it for one year and the next year they take it back, and look for a higher bidder. This is a study by the Lloyds”, he said.

The CEO of Med-view Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole urged the federal government to establish a strong policy on how foreign airlines should be paying for slots because that is the only thing the country could benefit from them.

“If foreign airlines want to go into every airport in the country, they will be welcomed, but Nigeria should have something in return to develop Nigeria’s airports. This is because the foreign airlines are not adding any value; they come, drop and go. They are not establishing jobs for people; they are not putting anything on the ground for Nigerians,” Bankole said .

In his comments, Adenekan said collection of money from air agreements are outdated .

He said introduction of slot allocation system could earn more money for the country .

Industry analyst, Olu Fidel Ohunayo seemed not to be optimistic about slot allocation working successfully in Nigeria. But he believes that, if government sees it as better option, it could embrace it. Many however noted that the way the situation is, Nigeria does not seem to have many options and for it to earn money from foreign airlines, it must introduce the slot allocation option.

“I sincerely hope they have weighed their options before opting for slot allocation. Slot allocation is for congested airports and efficient use of time and space; that is not the scenario in Nigeria. The foreign airlines easily and quickly increase frequency courtesy of the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). How they expect slot revenue to effectively surpass and strengthen our carriers is really puzzling. Our policy, whether slot or BASA should encourage primarily the domestic airlines, while revenue should be secondary,” Ohunayo said.

Barring any hitches the Federal Government will from October 27, stop collecting  royalties, commercial air agreements paid by foreign carriers flying into Nigeria.

It is estimated that the nation will lose several billions of naira hitherto earned from these payments . But, experts have argued that more money could be earned if government goes ahead to introduce slot allocation system at airports for foreign carriers .

Only indigenous carriers will be given in aviation parlance , “grand father rights “, priority. Other carriers are expected to apply for and pay to get a landing and take off rights at major international airports .

The abolition of the payments is in compliance with the directive issued by global aviation  regulator : International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO).

Last year in Montreal , Canada, the headquarters of ICAO , delegates of member states at the 38th session of the assembly, adopted a new framework to ensure long-term of sustainability of the air transport industry .

The focus of the new framework, is to further deepen the liberalisation of the industry.

According to ICAO, this has become imperative because of the increasingly global and competitive environment in which air transport operates.

The ICAO regulation states: ”We hereby direct member states to abolish restrictions and liberalise air transport . This involves non – discriminatory and transparent treatment of foreign airlines. This would involve, for example, no royalties or mandatory commercial agreements between nations  and foreign airlines.”

Some aviation experts, including former spokesman of the liquidated Nigeria Airways Limited, Mr Chris Aligbe, and Aviation Economist, Mr Taiwo Adenekan  and Managing Director of Medview Airlines, Alhaji Muneer Bankole,  have canvassed slot allocation system for foreign carriers as a alternate window to generate revenue for government.

They said the revenue lost to the abolition of royalties and commercial agreements could be regained in another way if the slot allocation system is adopted .

Slot allocation system, according Aligbe,  is  the right granted by an airport owner which allows the slot holder to schedule a landing, or departure during a specific time .

He said : “A landing slot, take-off slot, or airport slot is a right granted by an airport owner which allows the slot holder to schedule a landing, or departure during a specific time period.

Landing slots are allocated in accordance with guidelines set by the IATA’s Worldwide Airport Slots Group. All airports worldwide are categorised.

Allocated landing slots may have a commercial value and can be traded between airlines.

If an airline doesn’t use the allocation of its slots,  then it can lose the rights. Airlines may operate ghost or empty flights to preserve slot allocations.”

He said: “We should go ahead and create a slot allocation system and move away from bilateral air services  agreements ( BASA) and royalties because BASA royalties are a disappearing phenomenon that will become anachronistic in many places and they tell us it is commercial, they have transferred earning from BASA to slots.”

Aligbe insisted that payment for royalty or demand for royalty is becoming outdat­ed and no longer obtainable in the industry.

Rather  than depend on royalties arising from the commercial agreement, the government should commence slot allocation systems for airlines operating into Nigeria.

He argued that in today’s global avia­tion industry, players are requesting for open skies, multiple designations, instead of dual designations and freer air, adding that as a result of open skies agreements, none of the US operating into the coun­try pays royalty to the Nigerian government.

He argued that with effective slot allocation system on ground, the Nigerian government would earn much more revenues from the sys­tem than what it is presently earning through commercial agreements from airlines.

He said: “What has come into place now is slot allocation system and the money made from slot, if we have one, will be 10 times more than the royalties that we are currently get­ting from the airlines. In Europe and America, they have created slot as a quota system based on the argument that they have congestion and that slot has become very difficult to get.

“That was why when Arik Air applied to London from Abuja and they were asking it to pay for a pair of slot, the sum of 9,000 pounds daily, which means if you are going to fly seven times a week; that is 9,000 pounds times seven weekly. “Royalties should be out completely and we should put in place the slot system.

“Even in the books of airlines, the Lloyds did a study on European airlines, the money they earn from the secondary sales of slots is beginning to en­ter their account books. Some of them make now over 30 million and 60 million pounds. That is even the airlines and not the airport itself in secondary trade of slots.”

There is an indication that Nigeria could make about N30 billion annually from slot allocation to foreign airlines as an alternative to royalties paid on Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA).

The accruals will evolve from extra frequencies given to these airlines as many of them operate from different entry points in the country.

Slot is a system whereby the airport management sells landing time and space to an airline for extra slots in addition to the existing frequency agreement between the country that owns the airline and Nigeria.

He said :” For example, when Arik Air wanted to fly from Abuja to London, the airport management in London, the British Airports Authority (BAA) insisted the Nigerian airline should pay for slot amounting £250,000 (N63, 098, 225) per schedule (there are Summer, Winter, Autumn and Spring schedules) which is equivalent to quarter of a year.

“UK and Nigeria have bilateral agreement that offered 14 frequencies to both countries, so while British Airways utilises seven frequencies between London and Lagos a week; Virgin Atlantic utilises the remaining seven frequencies between Lagos and London per week.

“The federal government allocated only seven frequencies to Arik Air, which it is using for its Lagos to London operation. So when it wanted to operate from Abuja to London, BAA demanded the aforementioned sum of money per quarter of a year.

So in the event Nigeria introduces slot allocation, these foreign airlines will start paying fees for the extra frequencies they operate from different airports in the country. For example, Ethiopian Airlines will be paying for slot to Enugu, Abuja and Kano, while Air France will pay for slot in Port Harcourt and Abuja; the same with Lufthansa and other airlines that operate into more than one airport in the country.

“The difference between slot and frequencies allocated on BASA is that the latter is periodic; it could be for a quarter, for a season etc, but BASA allocated frequencies could last for over 10 years, until both countries agree to review the BASA.

“Before now Nigeria was making about $25 million from the royalties paid on BASA annually (about N4,125,000,000), but now every country will have to migrate to slot allocation, which nullifies the old system of payment of royalties.

Industry operators said the sale of slot allocation would multiply the earnings from royalties and could accrue to N30 billion annually.”

Aligbe said Nigeria could be generating so much money if it had adopted the slot allocation system.

“The critical issue in this country is that we should create slot allocation system. If we create it, the money we will make from slot will be almost 10 times the money we will be making from BASA and that is the truth. Nigeria can sell slots, they can sell it in a season, the next season they take it back. They can sell it for one year and the next year they take it back, and look for a higher bidder. This is a study by the Lloyds”, he said.

The managing director  of Med-view Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole urged the Federal Government to establish a strong policy on how foreign airlines should be paying for slots because that is the only thing the country could benefit from them.

“If foreign airlines want to go into every airport in the country, they will be welcomed, but Nigeria should have something in return to develop Nigeria’s airports. This is because the foreign airlines are not adding any value; they come, drop and go. They are not establishing jobs for people; they are not putting anything on the ground for Nigerians,” Bankole said .

In his comments, Adenekan said collection of money from air agreements are outdated .

He said introduction of slot allocation system could earn more money for the country .

Industry analyst, Olu Fidel Ohunayo seemed not to be optimistic about slot allocation working successfully in Nigeria.

But he believes that, if government sees it as better option, it could embrace it. Many however noted that the way the situation is, Nigeria does not seem to have many options and for it to earn money from foreign airlines, it must introduce the slot allocation option.

He said : “I sincerely hope they have weighed their options before opting for slot allocation. Slot allocation is for congested airports and efficient use of time and space; that is not the scenario in Nigeria. The foreign airlines easily and quickly increase frequency courtesy of the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). How they expect slot revenue to effectively surpass and strengthen our carriers is really puzzling. Our policy, whether slot or BASA should encourage primarily the domestic airlines, while revenue should be secondary.”