Dwindling revenue may stall airport infrastructure, May salaries-FAAN

• Seeks FG’s assistance

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has expressed concern over the dwindling revenue of the agency following the continued lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The implication according to the authority could affect payment of workers’ salaries and provision of infrastructure at many of the country’s international airports.

Legal Adviser to FAAN, Dr. Clifford Omozeghian, told journalists in Lagos that they would liaise with the Gederal Government to see how the issue of revenue generation would be addressed to meet up with airport infrastructure challenge.

Omozeghian explained that only recently, April salaries of FAAN workers was paid saying that it was the directive of the Federal Government that workers salaries should be paid and to take care of other key critical projects in the aviation industry.

“Our revenue has drastically reduced. Management will liaise with the Federal Government to see how this issue of revenue generation would be taken care of because it may be difficult to pay salaries but I know that a fact that with the Federal Government on our side, certain measures will be put in place.

“Federal Government has said salaries must be paid and that is a key instruction from the government and that will be taken care of as much as possible and that has been done.”

He noted that with the global problem, the global economy is in recession and FAAN is not excluded as it generates its revenue.

He expressed optimism that the present situation would be quickly taken care of so that FAAN would not have issues with the payment of salaries and taking care of very key critical projects that are essential in the aviation industry.

He explained that FAAN would continue to provide services to approved airlines during the
period of lockdown adding that evacuation of nationals of some countries have been carried out at various times.

“We had Europeans, we had Americans, and we had British citizens, citizens of various nationals being evacuated at various times. Because we render essential services, some of our key staff has been on ground rendering these services ensuring that these flights and their operations are smooth and there is easy take off and landing and these have been some of the activities we have been carrying out and everything has been smooth.”

He said the management of FAAN had given out palliatives to essential staff that come to work every day in order to make them happy at this critical time adding that the process of distribution was still ongoing.