Mixed fortunes for air travel business

Developments in Nigeria’s aviation industry during the period under review can be described as mixed, as further commitment by government and stakeholders could propel the sector to an appreciable height, WOLE SHADARE writes

Positive outlook

Nigerian aviation in the third quarter 2019 did not changed significantly from the result achieved in the same period last year.

The sector witnessed improved stability in airline operations, pockets of infrastructural face lifts and recorded little growth. A closer look at events in the last three months suggests as much.

Nowhere in the world would discussion on aviation take place without the mention of airlines. Nigerian carriers are still in the throes of death but have managed to stay afloat under a combination of both government intervention and the owners’ deliberate plans to be competitive and offer good services.

The carriers are finding their feet after many months of uncertainty. They are beginning to be profitable even though some problems with foreign exchange, high cost of aviation fuel among others have hampered their growth.

Minister shows concern

The situation made the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to hold periodic meetings with airline operators with a view to cushioning their problems.

The Accountable Manager, Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzo, said the minister had always been supportive, saying that the first issue “we took to him was the issue of VAT, that was quickly solved and immediately it will be cleared. We have not wriggled out yet but we are trying to get out of it. It is something we have to face. With the support of government, we are nearing somewhere.

“The airport has just been closed recently in Enugu. If we have systematic plan to maintain these airports, there would have been no need to close any airport. We are working with the government. The good thing is that new FAAN MD, DG, NCAA, the minister have scheduled regular meetings with the airlines.”

Enugu airport closure

The recent closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, should be of huge concern to various stakeholders in the aviation industry. Although the continued closure is to sustain public trust in air travel in the country, authorities should not lose sight of the expediency of quality control at the time of construction and expansion in such a sensitive industry.

Doubtless, Nigeria’s aviation industry has been going through twists and turns for many years, even before the advent of the current administration. Issues of public concern that have emanated from the industry have ranged from periodic shortage of aviation fuel to safety concerns, airport closures and reopening, and trespass of cows into the runways, among others.

These issues have been quite challenging to some and even traumatic to many others, in particular, air travellers in the country. In as much as these issues have persisted over time, air safety in the past few years has been cheering by global standards, and so, many still prefer air travel to other transportation modes, which are bedevilled with insecurity and other concerns.

In furtherance of this, not a few believe that government should ensure that the Owerri and Asaba airports, being the closest to Enugu, are operationally prepared to receive increased traffic as well as the connecting roads to these airports, which should be made motorable.

Safety programmes

The implementation of targeted safety programmes and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s sustained robust regulations as well as well-trained aviation safety inspectors and airlines’ adherence to standard operating procedures also contributed.

The whole aviation community is ultra-sensitive to safety issues all over the world; agencies and personnel connected with safety are demonstrating an uncanny dexterity.

Aviation is one of the most regulated industries in the world, and that as a member of global aviation associations, the NCAA as well as the entire industry had been audited and would continue to be audited.

The role played by the regulatory agencies to deepen safety in aviation is significant. Of note are efforts by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) to further release the backlog of accident reports and the implementation of their safety recommendations for safety purposes.

Flight delay, cancellation

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) recently met with all the airline operators on issues affecting flight delays and cancellations that have made air travel a nightmare for travellers.

At the meeting attended by 33 scheduled and non-scheduled commercial airlines, the chief executives of the airlines took turns to enumerate some grey areas affecting their operational efficiency.

One of the chief executives of an airline that attended the meeting with the Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Usman Muhtar, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that the DG was worried about incessant delays and flight cancellations, admitting that the figure was skyrocketing to an alarming rate.

Experts are worried that the increasing rate of both delayed and cancelled flights are creating unease in the sector as passengers continue to inundate NCAA with complaints.

Penultimate week, stakeholders were stunned with the figure released by the aviation regulatory body.

Fact sheet from NCAA shows that in 2017, an average of three out of every four flights were delayed.

Out of 48,319 flights operated by eight airlines, 30,214 were late, while 872 were cancelled. The breakdown indicated that Aero Contractors  recorded 66.5 per cent delay rate; Arik Air, 61.8 per cent; Azman Air, 66.4 per cent; Dana Air  64.2 per cent; Med-View Airlines Plc 71 per cent; Overland 70.1 per cent; First Nation 35.8 per cent; and Air Peace 58.2 per cent.

In 2018, the aviation regulator reported that 36,350 domestic flights were delayed. A breakdown of 2018 figure ranked Air Peace as first, having recorded 14, 069 flights  delayed; 137 cancelled flights while it  operated 22, 055 flights.

Statistics from the apex aviation regulatory body showed that 59,818 flights were operated by nine airlines in the period under review.

This staggering statistics have forced many to take the option of travelling by road despite the danger of kidnapping and bad road network across the country as many scheduled flights no longer depart as stipulated.

AIB sets the pace

Commissioner, AIB, Akin Olateru, an aircraft engineer, has been doing excellently well since he took over as the agency. He has also restored confidence in the agency and conformed to international best practice.  AIB since 2017 has released 58 per cent of the total number of releases done since the creation of the agency since 2007. In term of release of final reports, AIB has done 58 per cent. The main reason AIB is set up is to investigate accidents and serious incidents and to come up with safety recommendations to prevent future occurrence.

The work of AIB is extremely important because it is the only institution that can investigate the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to see where there are lapses or gaps and to proffer safety recommendations on how to do things better.

The agency also has memorandum of understanding with many countries to foster cooperation in areas of investigation of accidents and serious incidents.

As part of the partnership, Sao Tome and Principe ceded to Nigeria the investigation of an accident.  AIB investigated the accident and final report was released 12 months after the accident.

Recently, France approached Nigeria as a nation to help the Francophone African countries as part of its MoU with AIB to look at how it can strengthen their capacity through human capital development.

The Accident Investigation Bureau under Olateru also has a pact with the Republic of Benin, to help her investigate accidents whenever they occur.

The AIB has gone further to support Gambia in setting up accident investigation agency. They have also been supported in writing their regulations, Act and the whole work. The agency equally supported them in their own Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

Last line

There is no doubt that Nigeria’s aviation sector, within the period in question, looked good and it is hoped that administrators would sustain the tempo to make it better for the sector.