Domestic airline pilots, over the years, have been running huge bills travelling abroad for full jet flight simulator training due to the absence of such facilities in Nigeria. If plans by the government to establish the facility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos for Boeing 737 series are fruitful, capital flight will be reduced, reports KELVIN OSA – OKUNBOR.
Aircraft maintenance and crew training constitute huge expenditure for domestic carriers .
Operators, according to a rough estimate, spend about N2.5 billions yearly on such training .
Training of flight crew is smandatory for both the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Airline pilots are expected to have what experts describe as recurrency training, part of which is flight simulator for pilots.
This multi-million dollar training done offshore, has been a source of big headache for many domestic carriers.
Operators have consistently decried the failure of government to establish such facility in Nigeria.
“Nigerian airlines spend at least N2.5 billion annually in payment to foreign firms engaged in routine training of the pilots. Part of the training is full-jet flight simulator,” said a source.
Pilots’ simulator training, also called recertification training, is done once every six months by all pilots in Nigeria in accordance with the NCAA’s regulation.
Experts say this is one avenue for huge capital flight out of the country .
Its been ascertained that an airline with four aircraft spends at least $450,000 on simulator training. This means that the airline spends $112,500 on pilot training for each aircraft.
Consequently, major airlines spend $8.3m (N1. 25 billion ) every six months, and $16.7m (N2.5 billion ) every year.
Flight simulation reduces significantly, the cost of flight crew training.
The proposal by government to purchase full Jet- Flight Simulator (5000 Series B737) with complete accessories for the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Kaduna State, has been welcomed by experts.
The simulator, with its complete accessories, would be located at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
But as lofty as the proposal appears, many domestic airlines’ pilots are reluctant to comment on the matter.
Reason: they earn allowance in foreign currency when they are sent out for training by their employers. Having such facility in Nigeria would put an end to such funds .
The simulator, which will enable students of the aviation college and already qualified pilots carry out their training locally will also serve a dual purpose of a training facility and a source of revenue generation for the country.
The Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, said the contract which has been awarded to Messrs CAE of Canada, will cost $21.459 million, stating that the project is expected to be completed within 24 months.
“The project will serve a dual purpose of a training facility for the College and a source of revenue generation for the country.
“In addition, it will be used for the initial training of students, as it will enjoy the patronage of the commercial airliners in Nigeria and the West African coast in the recurrent training of their jet-airliner pilots in compliance with ICAO and NCAA regulations that pilots must have refresher training every six months,” he said.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Aviation matters, Captain Usman Shehu Iyal, said it is one of the milestones in the industry in the last six years .
Iyal said government thought out the project soundly by citing it in Lagos, because it is the hub of aviation activities .
He said many domestic airlines in Lagos use Boeing 737 aircraft, the simulator type to be established, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan said the project would also generate revenue for the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology .
Iyal said many domestic operators who hitherto send their pilots abroad for simulation training would now save money and deploy such funds into other key areas of their operations .
He described the facility as evidence of government’s focus on aviation infrastructure that will position the industry as a catalyst for economic development .
He said apart from the simulator in Lagos, the government is also intensifying efforts to enhance capacity with the training of helicopter pilots by the Nigeria Air Force training flying school in Enugu, which has extended its training to other members of the Armed Forces and the private sector .
”Flight simulation has made a major contribution to improved aviation safety. It also offers considerable financial saving to airlines and reduces the environmental impact of civil aviation,” he said.
“This facility will be useful for most of the commercial airline pilots in Lagos . It will save huge foreign exchange spent by operators who used to send their pilots for overseas simulation training. This is one of the many projects being embarked on by government to change the face of aviation .
“Government under the youth development programme for the Niger Delta, has trained 66 Pilots and 61 Aircraft Engineers. Some of the pilots have undergone Advanced Commercial Pilot Training on instrumental flying and already employed, while others are at various stages of advanced training,” Iyal said.
According to him, most of the engineers are rated on engine and frames and have equally been gainfully employed. “The Nigerian Air Force, in collaboration with private investors, have also initiated and set up a Pilot Training School in Enugu for both civil and military helicopter pilots,” he said.
He continued: “Also, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has a simulator in Abuja that is able to process, download and analyse flight data recorders; so that saves time and money. “
A former aircraft engineer with the defunct Nigeria Airways, Sheri Kyari, has described the facility as good for the aviation sector .
He said pilots in training will experience a seamless transition switching between fixed base and full motion flight simulators or switching from flight simulator to the flight deck of a real Boeing aircraft.
Besides, he said, flight simulation would reduce significantly the cost of flight crew training, adding that it can be more effective than airborne training.
The Chief Executive Officer of Centurion Securities and the former Commandant, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu, described the cost of the simulator as prohibitive.
He said those that would benefit from the facility are going to be private operators who are unwilling to spend money for training and would invariably owe NCAT for the service rendered to any of the airlines’ crew members.
“Some operators are perpetual debtors to government service providers in the industry and have been enjoying financial intervention from government. The question to ask is, why bring the simulator to Lagos and not NCAT? Why seek the convenience always? On the long run it will end up to be a waste when there would be no money to maintain or sustain its regular operations. For me, this is a venture for private investors, not government,” Ojikutu said.
Country Manager, British Airways and Iberia (Nigeria), Mr. Kola Olayinka, hinted that having the equipment could also add as additional revenue for airlines.
He lamented the huge loss of revenue lost to capital flight annually, occasioned by offshore recurrent training.
He added airline operators would spend less in sending crews abroad for recurrent training.
His words: “This is another way of making money in the industry, but unfortunately, most of our investors are not looking in this direction.
“Every aviation investors should not think of owing airline business because there are several businesses one can go into in the sector”.
