Nosa Aituamen
Stakeholders in the aviation industry have praised the Federal Government for its efforts in upgrading and modernizing infrastructure, as well as its support for indigenous airlines.
According to industry leaders, these efforts have significantly improved passenger safety, security, and comfort, while also boosting revenue generation for both government agencies and airlines.
The commendations were made during a stakeholders’ meeting held in Lagos, organized by the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
The meeting, with the theme: ‘Transforming the Aviation Industry: Through Strategic Partnerships: Advancing Airport Concession s for Sustainable Development’, was a dual-purpose gathering where heads of agencies presented their performance reports, and stakeholders discussed both successes and challenges within the industry.
The agency heads shared their achievements, including the adoption of technology to expedite operators’ documentation, infrastructure upgrades at airports and within the airspace, workforce development, and improvements in weather information systems.
“The NCAA has worked closely with stakeholders to accelerate issuance of permits, licences and certification processes”.
“We have made some major rehabilitations to some of our runways across the nation”.. FAAN
“And we are also calibrating all our navigational aids”.. NAMA.
While stakeholders applauded these advancements, they emphasized that further progress is needed.
Key areas requiring attention include the review of aircraft age limits, the certification process, and the management of unruly passenger behavior.
“We there request the review of your policy around the issue of aircraft age”… ASRTI
“We have a major problem in downstream aviation, it is called cross border trading, it is a cancer in our market and it is killing the market”… NANTA
“Over the years, we have seen that, most of these policies, the technical personnel they are not looked at”…NATCA
“The issue of bird strike is worrisome”… AON.
In response, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, reaffirmed his commitment to fulfilling his five-point agenda for the sector.
He assured stakeholders that the policies in place would be effectively implemented to address these challenges.
“We have also done a couple of things in terms of policies to guide the industry and issued directives to also help us in navigating and make sure they have ease access to whatever they want in terms of the policies of government and ease of doing business for them”.
Regarding the ongoing airport concession process, Mr. Keyamo called on aviation unions to engage in constructive dialogue, assuring them that the process would be completely transparent.