The Nation Newspaper

Tag: International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)

  • FAAN gives Abuja airport terminal new look

    The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has embarked on complete rehabilitation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (NAIA) terminal ahead of its scheduled reopening on April 19.

    Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who visited the airport on Friday, reports that work was going on at the Terminal B of both the international and domestic wings of the airport.

    The Bureau de change stand at the terminal has been dismantled, most parts of the building were being repainted and the public toilets were also being fixed.

    The Acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu who spoke with NAN said the ongoing renovation was to ensure that airport reopens with well-equipped facilities that would meet global standard.

    Yakubu said the bureau de change stand would be rebuilt into new style to meet with international standard in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standard practice.

    She explained that the style being currently used in Nigeria was not in accordance with what obtained in other airports especially in the developed countries.

    The spokesperson added that the authority, being also mindful of the plight of the physically challenged and aged persons had decided to provide lift and escalators at the departure hall.

    According to her, the stand will not be relocated but will be rebuilt to standard as prescribed by ICAO.

    The Minister of State, Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika had on Thursday, disclosed that by April 19 when the airport would be reopened, it would be wearing new look.

    Sirika said that FAAN was doing complete rehabilitation of the terminal B of the international wing with escalators and lift at the departure for the physically challenged and aged persons.

    According to him, the airport is opening on April 19 with better runway, better facilities and will be more efficient and compliant with ICAO protocol on standard and best practices.

    “Also, we are opening a lounge for the physically challenged and elderly and this is a response from the feedback that we get.

    “In terminal B building also, lift, toilets and other ancillary facilities will be provided.

    “The closure of this airport also means that we improve the terminal to be more robust and create a seamless flow of international and local passengers,” he said.

    The Federal Government had on March 8 shut the airport for six weeks to enable Julius Berger carryout complete repair of its failed 3.6 kilometres runway.

    NAN reports that the rehabilitation work has reached 57 per cent completion three weeks after the closure.

     

  • NAAPE to float new airline – Balami

    NAAPE to float new airline – Balami

    Mr Isaac Balami, President, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), says the association is considering floating its airline to address the challenge of unemployment among its members.

    Balami made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.

    He said the national executive of the association had constituted a committee with the aim of setting up a carrier as the members were the ones flying and maintaining the aircraft.

    According to him, what is happening is that, we have lost confidence in most of the employers within the industry, even though; some of them are trying their best.

    “Some are doing very well, but I think since we are the ones that fly and maintain these aircraft, the national leadership of NAAPE has given me the mandate to set up a committee.

    “We might float our own airline very soon so that we can engage ourselves, maintain ourselves and operate because we cannot continue like this,  this is the only industry we know.

    “We have been doing a lot of work so that we can come up with our own airline because we believe we cannot be held hostage in our own industry.

    “There are airlines that have not paid us for the past five to six months because the money that the airlines are making cannot run the airline.’’

    Balami, however, called on the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for the airlines to flourish and in turn create jobs for the industry and boost the economy.

    He said that the government had not been giving support to the industry to enable Nigerian airlines to compete favourably with their international competitors.

    According to him, until the government wakes up and do the needful, create the enabling environment, even if you float a new national carrier with 200 brand new aircraft, it will go down.

    “The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) confirms that refineries at Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt can produce aviation fuel at N50 per litre but currently, we are paying N200.

    “ Before Aero went down, it was flying seven aircraft with eight million tonnes of fuel every month and if we were getting fuel at N50 as against N200 per litre, Aero would not have gone down.

    “It is the government’s responsibility to stimulate the economy, create jobs and support the airlines so that they would continue to fly passengers across.’’

    The NAAPE president said that the nation’s aviation industry had recorded tremendous progress in spite of the many challenges facing the sector.

    He applauded all the aviation agencies over the Category One recertification of the nation’s airports, saying that countries like India and Pakistan had lost their Category One Certification.

    According to him, Nigeria is able to score over 90 per cent in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit even in the face of funding and others challenges.

    “All I am saying is that we also need the support of the government for the operators so that everybody can play his or her part in moving the sector forward and compete globally,’’ he said.

    On the face-off between the union and Bristow Helicopter over the sack of its members, Balami said the airline was expected to recall all the 21 sacked staff before the weekend.

    He explained that the union would still shut down the operation of the company if it failed to recall its members.

  • NACAN decries low number of personnel at airports

    The National Air Traffic Communicators Association of Nigeria (NACAN) says the inadequate number of its personnel for operations in the country’s 24 functional airports is worrisome.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NACAN’s President, Mr George Nkambo, spoke at the association’s fourth general meeting in Lagos on Tuesday.

    Nkambo disclosed that there were only 97 trained and licensed communication personnel nationwide, which was grossly inadequate to cover operations across the nation’s airports.

    According to him, the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) did not employ personnel into the department between 1989 and 2012.

    He, therefore, appealed to the management to approve the basic training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology for officers to be properly integrated into the mainstream.

    According to him, this will assist in addressing the acute manpower shortage in the department.

    Nkambo said that NAMA, as an air navigation service provider, had the responsibility of rendering its task with high sense of professionalism as outlined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) annexes.

    The NACAN president also decried the inability of his members to attend mandatory local and foreign courses to build their capacity due to lack of funding by management.

    He explained that air traffic communication was an important part of air traffic service in NAMA as spelt out in ICAO Annex 10 volume II, which was necessary for exchange of air traffic service messages.

    Nkambo, however, commended the NAMA’s management for converting some personnel from within the agency who applied for conversion after meeting the requisite criteria, into the department.

    The NACAN president also called for provision of modern facilities across the airports to improve the safety of air navigation in the country.

  • We need to re-establish the integrity of Nigeria – Buhari

    We need to re-establish the integrity of Nigeria – Buhari

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has stressed the urgent need to ensure that the potentials of Nigeria are harnessed and used for the good of the country.

    The president noted this on Monday when he received the President of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Dr Bernard Aliyu, at the State House, Abuja.

    He said: “Nigeria needs to work on her potentials, so that we don’t remain permanently at the level of potentials.

    “If Ethiopia is sustained largely by her airline industry, we have greater potentials here.

    “But we must move out, engage with the rest of the world, as we need to re-establish the integrity of this country.

    “We need to rebuild this country again.”

    The president recounted that for the greater part of the last 16 years, oil sold above 100 dollars per barrel, but expressed regret that the nation did not have much to show for it.

    “In the First Republic, more enduring infrastructure was built with meagre resources. But in the past 16 years, we made a lot of money without planning for the rainy day.

    “We showed a lot of indiscipline in managing our economy, and that is why we are where we are today.

    “But this time round, we’ll do our best,” he said.

    In his remarks, the Nigerian-born ICAO President, Aliyu, commended Buhari for strides on anti-corruption and urged Nigeria to pay more attention to development of civil aviation.

    “Civil aviation is a catalyst for economic development. The level of aviation development in any country mirrors the economic development of that country,” he added.

    The ICAO president pledged to support the development of the aviation industry in Nigeria.

    He, however, urged the country to improve on training and capacity development, aviation security, aerodromes and air navigation, runways, control towers and terminal buildings, among others.

  • PDP failed to plan for raining day, says Buhari

    PDP failed to plan for raining day, says Buhari

    • Says Nigeria’s integrity needs to be re-established

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja said that the 16 years rule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed to plan for Nigeria’s raining day despite high revenue from oil during the period.

    He spoke at the Presidential Villa while receiving the President of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Dr Bernard O. Aliyu.

    For the greater part of the last 16 years, he noted that Nigeria’s oil was sold above $100 per barrel.

    Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, however regretted that Nigeria did not have much to show for the high revenue.

    He said: “In the First Republic, more enduring infrastructure was built with meagre resources. But in the past 16 years, we made a lot of money without planning for the rainy day.

    “We showed a lot of indiscipline in managing our economy, and that is why we are where we are today. But this time round, we’ll do our best.” He added

    He harped on the need to ensure that the potentials of Nigeria are urgently harnessed and used for the good of the country.

    He added: “Nigeria needs to work on her potentials, so that we don’t remain permanently at the level of potentials.

    “If Ethiopia is sustained largely by her airline industry, we have greater potentials here. But we must move out, engage with the rest of the world, as we need to re-establish the integrity of this country. We need to rebuild this country again.” He said

    Dr Aliyu, the Nigerian-born ICAO president commended President Buhari for strides on anti- corruption, and urged Nigeria to pay more attention to development of civil aviation.

    “Civil aviation is a catalyst for economic development. The level of aviation development in any country mirrors the economic development of that country,” Dr Aliyu said.

    He also pledged to support the development of the aviation industry in Nigeria, urging the country to improve on training and capacity development, aviation security, aerodromes and air navigation, runways, control towers, terminal buildings, among others.