Airlines need to demonstrate capability to run safe operations, says Adurogboye

Sam Adurogboye is the General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). In this interview with Woleshadare.net, the consummate image maker for the aviation regulatory explains the role of the NCAA to ensure that airlines play according to the rules, dispels constant misinformation about Tickets Sales Charge (TSC), on-going certification of two of the airports among other issues that have affected the nation’s aviation industry. He also speaks about airlines’ lack of corporate governance. Excerpt

For all of us that may not know. NCAA was established in 2000. I joined them March 22, 2000. We had about 150 airlines in our register but by the time we got to 2006, it came down to 28. The question is what happened to them? They went under. Can we say that the NCAA is not doing its work? Of course, they do their work. If you had 150 airlines and some of them have gone under, we can’t say that they did not do their work. If you go to our register, you will see them. At a point, the number came down to 12 and it came to what we have today to between 8 and 9 and someone will say it is because we did not regulate. If we do not regulate, those airlines’ number won’t come to that and they would have been dropping off the sky.  It happened because we did what we needed to do and we are still doing what we need to do. That is why they fizzled out. You go to any sector, especially the banking industry. There were so many banks all over the place and by the time the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) came up with regulation in 2005, some Banks went under and of course, it kept going under that way until we had Prof. Charles Soludo as Governor of CBN, and there was more consolidation leading to many banks going under also. Do you blame that on the governor that he was not regulating? That was done so that your money would be safe. So, if anybody is saying that NCAA is regulating and making airlines to go under, it means you are saying we should go into business of running business for the owners.

That is against the rules of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). We don’t run airlines for the owners. We do not write feasibility study for the owners. That is exactly why you see CAA all over the world charge an airline before they go to inspect their aircraft. When you want to start your business, you show an interest by sending application to NCAA. When the letter is seen, they are invited to a meeting and see if the application is considered. They now have to demonstrate capability to run a smooth operation and to demonstrate capabilities. You need to show that you have the liquidity to back it up.  Of course, you will pay the necessary fees and all the necessary security checks are done here and abroad, the source of your funding will need to be established. After that, they will check before you bring any plane to Nigeria. We send our inspectors to go and do pre-shipment flight inspection.

Then on arrival here, we do what we call comprehensive system check on that airplane. We go in that order to issue certificate with each of the aircraft. Be that as it may, once you get the AOC, it means that you have demonstrated capability to run safe and smooth operations. The laws are so clear. If you are not able to fulfil the operations the way it should be, then of course, naturally you will find your way out of the business. For instance, if you don’t have insurance for that plane, that plane will not fly. Maintenance is another issue. They have their maintenance schedule. When you go for maintenance, of course, our inspectors will go and check why you are doing it there. You are expected to take the airplane to an approved maintenance facility where we have approved wherever you want to take it to anywhere in the world. While the maintenance is ongoing, we will send inspectors there to check. After every maintenance, a certificate of release will be issued. If a pilot violates our regulation, his certificate would be seized or made to pay a fine. On the issue of levies, in all of the levies, I have one document for ten countries including Singapore of analysis of the charges which also includes Ghana and all the rest. There is no country of the world that does not charge fees. It would even interest you to know that there are some charges that we do not charge in Nigeria such as hotel tax, tourism development tax. There are no countries where airlines are not going under. The big airlines in the US have the greatest number of merger.

I read Wole Shadare’s article in the course of the week entitled, “No succour yet for Nigerian airlines.” He did some historical analysis, full of research of the several mergers that took place in the US. If big carriers in the US are merging, why do we think airlines cannot merge in Nigeria? Businesses are run with formula, with corporate governance. What do we mean by that? You run your business the way business should be run. It is not in the purview of the aviation regulatory body to point to who will be the MD, the accountant. Corporate governance is the problem of the airlines because they lack it. It is not the number of planes you have, whether it is brand new, it is not whether you have all the money in the bank, it is, do you run your business the way it should be run and it is not within the purview of the CAA to run the airline. It is within the purview of the investor to get the right person to do the job and of course, once it is done, you will prosper in it. There are airlines as we speak that pick their bills to all the agencies as at when due. We have about three or four of them. I don’t want to mention their names. You can do your investigation on it. Some have even been given commendation letter from NCAA.

Are you aware that NCAA charges security charge, how much is this money? Is it for domestic or international passengers?

This charge was introduced at the advent of the security crisis we had then and we all know the security threat which was caused by Boko Haram. It is Federal Government levy. It was introduced some years back during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. It is not to NCAA neither is it to any agency, it goes straight to the purse of the Federal Government. It is a way of sourcing funds to fight the insurgents. It is 25 per cent of the ticket cost. It is not a charge to NCAA but to the Federal Government

How many aircraft does an airline need to start operation?

There is no limit. The minimum is that when a new start-up begins; it is a policy that was introduced when Mrs. Kema Chikwe was the Minister of Aviation. It was government’s policy after EAS crash that any aircraft above 22 years should not be used. They are used for cargo. The policy is that a new start-up starts with a minimum of two aircraft. It means that at any given time you must have two. If you are in operation, there are circumstances that can lead to a waiver. For example, if you have three, four aircraft and three of them are due for maintenance at the same time, and you have only one left, we can grant a waiver by way of looking at you, look at that one you are using while you are doing maintenance on the rest. We will cut down the size of your operation to only one or two destinations. If you are running five routes before, we will cut it down to two or three. Then, of course we will monitor the crew. You don’t over labour the crew. Our team now certifies the sole aircraft more. Every flight, we will check while you are on the waiver.

Sanction to airlines especially First Nation that allegedly violated your rules and due diligence on the part of pilots

Let me tackle the First Nation problem with an analogy. If your driver’s licence expires and it goes for renewal, does that qualify you to drive your car? It is true that the pilot’s licence has expired and he applied for renewal, but for that period, he does not have a licence, he cannot fly. The regulation we are using, they have a say in it. Before our law becomes operational, we conduct stakeholders meeting for notice of rulemaking. Our regulation is not made by the NCAA in the secret and thrown at everybody; we sat down with those pilots including all the stakeholders. We are all party to that document. If your license expires, you stay off the cockpit until your license is revalidated.  When you do the wrong thing you are punished and when you do the right thing, you are commended. It has a reward system. Criminality is not limited to Nigeria. People fly planes out of airports without clearance. I witnessed that. Passengers’ flight over 150 passengers flew past New York by 150 nautical miles. Two fighter jets were detailed to go and trace him before they led it to land. At the end of the day, it was discovered that the pilots were playing games. Their licences were revoked and the rest is history. They would have killed people. All over the world, criminality is there. They have to stay abreast until all these people are caught and punished. If we have not been doing anything, such people would have been killing people. They say we are over regulating. If we don’t regulate, they would come to blame us.

Don’t you think that if NCAA had done its work properly, Aero and Arik’s problems would have long been detected before now? Arik did not pay workers for seven months and how come NCAA did not see this?

I said earlier that we do assist airlines. Aero would have gone under during the time of Dr. Demuren as DG of NCAA. We assisted. We don’t assist to a point where you do not pay salaries or operate a safe operation. The issue of economic audit, this one does not pay salary, it is very interesting for people to come and say they did not earn salary. We can only establish that you did not earn salary by getting them to bring documentary evidence like their last pay slip. The management of the airline has come to say they pay salaries as at when due.  Do you know that some organisations in Nigeria have three balance sheets? They have one for the board; they have one for the media. Ask them to give you their last pay slip, the workers will refuse. Documentary evidence in our custody tells us that the workers are paid up to date.  May be you want us to rely on hearsay that they have not paid them. When it comes to give me something we can work on, it is usually very difficult from the workers.  When that of Virgin Nigeria happened, it was because we had documentary evidence. Also we were able to move in on Discovery Airlines because we had documentary evidence. People forget that we can be sued as well. We have court cases.

On airport certification, what is the latest on getting Abuja and Lagos certified?

I forgot to mention it. That is one area that people have ignorantly blamed NCAA or they pretend not to know the right thing. I have often heard that they have not certificated any airport in Nigeria and they will blame NCAA. Certification is supposed to be done by the CAA, that is the process but the owner of the airports must be ready. Every time FAA come and conduct audit on us, they will first of all write letter to NCAA. They will propose date that they want to come for the audit. I have always said it proudly that NCAA will never fail an audit. I know the foundation of NCAA having stayed with the agency since inception. I know what I am saying. We want to certify your airport, we will write you but when you say you are not ready, how can we do it when the owner is not ready. ICAO cannot certify any country if that country is not ready because it will cost you money, it will cost you training people.

Wole Shadare