Nigeria airspace safe despite dropped ICAO points, says Aligbe

Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Consult, Mr. Chris Azu Aligbe said the 71% score recorded by Nigeria in last year’s  Universal Security Audit Programme-Continuous Monitoring Approach (USAP-CMA) conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is not an indication that the country’s airspace is unsafe.

 Speaking to Aviation Metric at the weekend, Aligbe stated that rather than waste energy on an audit conducted last year, he called on all the agencies to ensure that those gaps noticed during the audit were closed.

His words, “No country wants to drop when such audits are conducted because it will give an impression that standard is dropping but it doesn’t make our airspace unsafe. All that it means is that when you notice a gap, all you need to do is to quickly close the gap. It is a drop, yes but we should not be dropping that way.”

“The fact of the matter is that it is a safety audit with arguments to and fro is not necessary. What is necessary is for us to take the result and work to improve the situation. If we were at 96% per cent before, let us stay at 96% even if we don’t higher because 96% is very high to 90%; there is a gap, we have noticed it, and we  should close it rather than go about with this argument.”

“All the agencies involved, NAMA, NCAA and FAAN will take these areas and close them. It happens everywhere but when you don’t accept the situation, we will be living in self-denial and address the issue and get back to where we should be.”

Recall that Keyamo had early this year explained reasons Nigeria performed abysmally poor at the recent Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) saying inter-agency rivalry amongst the Chief Executive Officers and lack of coordination cost the nation so much.

Nigeria scored five points short of the 75 per cent benchmark which in aviation is considered to be below pass mark of 75%.

It was the first time in 15 years the sector would fail the mandatory audit. However, it was given the statutory 60 to 90 days lifeline to close all identified gaps by the global aviation regulatory body.

In a related development,  Aligbe said it would be very difficult for any airline to be successful with point-to-point operations stressing that for Nigerian carriers to be profitable, they would need to interline or go into codeshare agreements that would help distribute their passengers beyond points.

He explained that Nigerian carriers like the defunct Nigeria Airways which was removed from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) clearing house as far back as 1986, Bellview, Arik, Medview and currently Air Peace which operates to London have only about 30% of the traffic going to the British capital.

He says, “When you are operating point to point to London, you only have about 30% of the traffic going to London because it is only those stopping in London that you can carry. Those that are going beyond London; that market is not for you. And of that 30% that is going to London, some are frequent fliers on Virgin Atlantic and British Airways; you can’t get them. You have lost that market.”

“Interlining arrangement came in 1947. I told you if you are not operating at the level of the person you are interlining, there will be a liability. If you fail to meet your obligation, the other airline might be sued because you can sue an airline from anywhere it is taking off from. The third level is associate with a global alliance member. That happens when an alliance member invests in your airline like KLM invested in Kenya Airways, like the beleaguered Nigeria Air with Ethiopian Airlines.

“Ethiopian Airlines is an associate of global Alliance member and becomes an affiliate of an alliance member and the final level before you become an alliance member. There are three global alliances; One World is led by British Airways and American Airlines. There is a Skyteam and the largest is Star Alliance where you have Air France-KLM, Delta”.

Wole Shadare