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Tag: Aviation

  • Nigerian aviation industry records milestone under Buhari — FAAN MD

    Saleh Dunoma, Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), says the Nigerian aviation has recorded milestone achievements within three years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Mr Dunoma identified safety and security as some of the areas that received priority attention in the industry.

    The managing director told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that some other major milestones were recorded with the complete rehabilitation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport runway within six weeks.

    “A lot of things have been achieved in the last three years but first of all our concern is safety and security.

    “Safety starts from the runway and a lot has been on our runway especially at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja runway.

    “You are aware that this airport is a single runway airport and it is very critical because it has to be operational all the time.

    “We have been having problem all this while, but during this administration, the government took a decision and sort out this problem ones and for all.

    “It was closed for six weeks and maintenance was done on the pavement and the associated pavement which is the runway to improve the safety of the airport and that was done within time and within budget.

    “Not only in Abuja but we have also done some works on Enugu runway, Port Harcourt runway, Benin Airport runway, Kaduna runway.

    “These are some of the things that has to do with safety to improve the safety of operations into our airports.’’

    In the area of security, the FAAN boss disclosed that the Buhari administration approved and facilitated a special training of Aviation Security (AVSEC) on counter-terrorism, which was conducted by the United Nations (UN).

    He said that the training had enhanced the capability of AVSEC personnel across Nigerian airports leading to the approval by the government for AVSEC personnel to begin to carry arms.

    Mr Dunoma stated that two Nigerian airports – Abuja and Lagos – were able to receive aerodrome certification for the first time in 2017.

    He said the certification was a result of compliance with the Nigerian Civil Aviation and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety and security standards.

    He disclosed that the authority was committed to ensuring that all Nigerian airports were certified.

    According to him, FAAN is currently working on the airports in Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kaduna.

    For the first time in the history of Nigeria, it is under this administration that we were able to certify two of our airports and three are being certified for now.

    “Certification means that you have complied with all the Nigerian civil aviation standards and then the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards in terms of security and safety.

    “So, these two airports, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos and Abuja airports are compliant now, they are certified and now, we are working on kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kaduna airports.

    “We will do the international airports and I am sure that in the next one year, these four airports will be done and then we will continue with the domestic airports.

    “This is also a big achievement because there ere are only few countries in Africa that have certified airports.

    “So, Nigeria is the first to have two of its airports certified and it is the courtesy of this administration because this certification process started 11 years ago but we couldn’t achieve anything.

    “But during this administration, we were able to achieve two and four are in the pipeline.’’

  • EFCC quizzes former Aviation Minister over alleged N3.9b fraud

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday interrogated a former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka over an alleged N3.9billion fraud in connection with the procurement and Installation of sensitive security cameras/ infrastructure in five International Airports.

    The contract was awarded to Bri and Bru Limited.

    Before Chidoka was invited, the EFCC had quizzed the Managing Director of Bri and Bru Limited, the managers of the five international airports, the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority Nigeria( FAAN) and some offiicials of the ministry of aviation.

    According to a top source, the ex-minister arrived at the 15 A Awolowo Road, Ikoyi Lagos office of the EFCC at about 12.30pm.

    As at 6.30pm, EFCC detectives were still grilling the ex-Minister, who is a former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

    A fact-sheet on the investigation said: “The former minister is being quizzed in a case of alleged conspiracy and diversion of public fund in the N3.9billion contract for the procurement and Installation of sensitive security cameras/ infrastructure at the five International Airports, awarded to a company named Bri and Bru Limited.

    “Part of the said contract sum was allegedly fraudulently diverted to the use of the company and its cronies rather than the execution of the project under the watch of Chidoka as minister.

    “In the course of investigation, it was discovered that upon awarding the contract, payments were to be made according to stages of job done and the first payment of 15 per cent was done via the company’s Heritage Bank Account and also another payment of 60 per cent was done which brought the total payment received by Bri and Bru for the execution of the project to 75 per cent or N2,865,961,323,19.

    “Investigators discovered that Bri and Bru sub contracted the project to another company Surcomtec Nigeria Limited owned by one Chibuzo Obi. The total sum of $4,370,365.00 which is the equivalent of N2,400,000,000.00 was traced to Surcumtec inc Account in America ostensibly for the purchase of equipment for the project.

    “From the account of the company various payments were made to the former minister and some of his family members, director of Consumer Investment Limited and his younger brother, Obinna Chidoka, who is a member of the House of Representatives.

     

  • Aviation sector complaints third highest in 2017 – CPC

    The Director General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Babatunde Irukera, on Sunday said that the council received the third highest number of complaints in 2017 from the Aviation Sector.

    Irukera made the disclosure while speaking with journalists in Lagos.

    He said the sector came after Telecommunications and Banking sectors which had the first and second highest number of consumer complaints respectively.

    “According to the National Bureau of Statistics, about 15 million passengers passed through Nigerian airports in 2016 and 2.5 million passengers were recorded in the first quarter of 2017 alone.

    “In 2017, the aviation sector had the third highest number of complaints received by the council.

    “Given the consumer base of the sector and the propensity for consumer satisfaction concerns, the council cannot relent in its efforts to ensure that consumer interests are well protected, “Irukera said.

    The director general noted that complaints such as flight delays and cancellations as well as safety concerns must therefore be addressed in order to minimise their occurrences.

    He explained that the intervention of CPC in the aviation sector was not aimed at usurping the job of the Consumer Protection Directorate (CPD) of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    He said the CPC Act empowers the council to protect the rights of consumers, stressing that this statutory responsibility cuts across all sectors of the economy.

    “Section 14 of the Act provides for the council’s collaboration with industry and sector regulators. This is a key tool for regulating rights across board.

    “This jurisdictional overlap is by design and calls for regulatory collaboration. This is an indication of the importance the government has attached to the issue of consumer protection, “he said.

    Irukera said the CPC had regularly engaged airline operators and would continue to collaborate with the NCAA to ensure the protection of the rights of consumers.

     

  • Air mishaps: Senate summons minister, set to declare state of emergency on aviation sector

    Senate Tuesday summoned the Minister of Transportation (Aviation), Alhaji Hadi Sirika, and other heads of aviation industry to appear before it over fatalities at the nation’s airways.

    The development followed a motion sponsored by Senator Gbenga Ashafa (APC), Lagos East and 8 others, stating that there was need to minimize the possibility of air accidents in Nigeria.

    Ashafa expressed deep concerns that Dana Airways overshot its runways at the Port Harcourt airport due to wet surface of the runway on 20th February, 2018.

    He further recalled that weeks before the Dana incident, an emergency door of a plane conveying passengers to Abuja on 7th January, 2018 fell off, noting that the situations was creating panic among air users.

    “Recall that just few weeks before the event, there was also panic on Wednesday, 7th January, 2018, when the emergency door of an aircraft conveying passengers to Abuja fell off upon landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport in Abuja.”

    Responding, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP) Enugu North Senatorial district said, “It became fearful at a time because all recommendations from the 7th Senate was not implemented. Last time, we closed all airports because we were working on the runways.”

    James Manager representing Delta South Senatorial district expressed worries over incessant air mishaps that led to loss of prominent Nigerans.

    “As a nation, we need to address the aviation issues seriously and frontally too.”

    “Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, Some equipment that were supposed to be installed to make air operations easy are being kept”, wondering what a country Nigeria is.

    “I support the motion that this issue should not be treated at the Committee level, but invited the Minister of Aviation to appear before us.”

    Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi called for decisive action, particularly as the issue had been treated in the past without action.

    “If necessary, we have to declare state of emergency on aviation sector, because it is incomprehensible seeing a door of a plane falling off. It is good to declare a state of emergency.”

    Abdulfatah Buhari berated Aviation officias for not doing their job, adding that the industry was getting decayed day by day.

    Senator Jibrin Barau on his part, stated that it would lead to more disasters if nothing was done to salvage the Aviation sector, adding that the sector has reached a worrisome situation.

    Senator Mao Ohuabunwa explained that most of worrisome issues were due to human failure rather than equipment and machine failure.

    Senator Sam Anyanwu identified inconsistent government policies as responsible for fatalities, saying no airline in Nigeria subjects its aircraft to annual routine checks.

    “Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, it is not just about aircraft maintenance, but government policies and the only aircraft that goes for annual maintenance is the aero contractors that have been taken over by AMCON now. Others do not, and government is not doing anything.”

    Anyanwu also canvassed for government bailout in the Aviation sector, adding that the industry was capable
    of becoming the nation’s national income.

    Reacting, deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu explained that each person might have had experience, hence it was important that the matter be urgently handled.

    Senate also resolved that all the aircraft in the country should be maintained with immediate effect.

  • 2017, safest year ever for aviation – ASN

    2017, safest year ever for aviation – ASN

    The Aviation Safety Network ( ASN ), an independent organisation located in the Netherlands, says that 2017 has turned out to be the safest year ever for commercial aviation.

    ASN, in its 2017 airliner accident statistics released on Wednesday, said there was an extremely low total of 10 fatal airliner accidents, resulting in 44 occupant fatalities and 35 persons on the ground.

    This, according to the report, makes 2017 the safest year ever, both by the number of fatal accidents as well as in terms of fatalities.

    The network said that 16 accidents and 303 lives lost was recorded in 2016, adding that these included five accidents that involved cargo flights while five were passenger flights.

    According to ASN, given the expected worldwide air traffic of about 36,800,000 flights, the accident rate is one fatal passenger flight accident per 7,360,000 flights.

    The President of ASN, Mr Harro Ranter, said the low number of accidents came as no surprise, noting that the average number of airliner accidents had shown a steady and persistent decline since 1997.

    Ranter commended the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO ), International Air Transport Association ( IATA ), Flight Safety Foundation and aviation industry for their continued safety-driven efforts.

    He disclosed that as at December 31, 2017, the aviation industry had a record period of 398 days with no passenger jet airliner accidents and 792 days since the last civil aircraft accident claimed over 100 lives.

    According to him, one out of 10 accident airplanes was operated by an airline on the EU “blacklist”.

    “Statistics are based on all worldwide fatal commercial aircraft accidents ( passenger and cargo flights ) involving civil aircraft of which the basic model has been certified for carrying 14 or more passengers.

    “Consequently, the June 7 accident involving a Myanmar Air Force Y-8F transport plane that killed 122 is not included.

    “When including military transport aircraft as well as non-commercial flights, the total number fatalities would be 230 in 24 fatal accidents but still the lowest numbers in modern aviation history.

    “Last fatal passenger jet airliner accident was on November 28, 2016 involving Avro RJ85 LaMia, near Medellin, Colombia.

    “Last civil aircraft accident claiming over 100 lives happened on Oct. 31, 2015 involving Airbus A321 Metrojet, North Sinai, Egypt with 224 fatalities,’’ he said.

    ASN is an independent organisation founded in 1996 with the aim of providing up-to-date, complete and reliable authoritative information on airliner accidents and safety issues.

    Reacting to the report in a statement on Wednesday, the Secretary General of ICAO, Dr Fang Liu, said the organisation was encouraged that no major hull losses and few fatalities were reported for 2017 flights.

    These results, according to Liu, speak to the commitment and cooperation of the governments, operators, and professional men and women worldwide who have worked so hard together to achieve them.

     

    NAN

  • Before Nigerian aviation becomes the world’s laughing stock

    Before Nigerian aviation becomes the world’s laughing stock

    By Prince Ned Nwoko

    Democracy is said to be, amongst other things, a system of political administration that allows for clear choices, for reasoned arguments, for the oiling of the wheels of development. Yet, when one considers some of the things people get up to in Nigeria it becomes imperative to wonder whether, for us, democracy does not mean wrongheadedness. Just one example will suffice to elucidate this problem.

    It was announced not long ago that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, one of the busiest airports on the African continent, would be shut down for three months. This announced plan to shut the airport is not because seismologists have suddenly found that the grounds of the airport are faced with imminent devastation due to a natural disaster of the sort of earthquake or landslide or volcanic eruption.

    No. Those in charge of matters of aviation plan to shut the Abuja Airport because repairs must be effected on its runway! For the simple reason of repairs, the airport would close for business for upwards of three months while the hundreds of flights that touch down at Abuja would be diverted to Kaduna, some 240 kilometres away! While this curious development leaves the international community wondering about our sense of judgment and sense of priorities, what becomes of the thousands of workers that earn their living at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport? Would they be sent packing? Or would they be sent on paid vacation? Or would they be simply forgotten as non-existent commodities?

    Outside the obvious economic adversity sure to come from an outright closure of the Abuja Airport, there are other equally gruesome considerations. There are risks associated with shuttling from Abuja and other distant centres of population concentration to Kaduna to board flights. The Abuja-Kaduna highway is particularly prone to vehicular accidents. The contingency of increased usage of that road by travellers to foreign lands usually perceived to be privileged can only excite adventurism and daredevilry in armed robbers and other violent criminals. More than anything else, the incessant killings by herdsmen in southern Kaduna raise the threat to would-be users of the Kaduna Airport by countless notches.

    These are dangers that are clearly avoidable. In Biafra during the civil war, the Uli Airport was not closed for a single day despite the fact that it was bombarded almost every night by fighter-bombers of the Nigerian Air Force. Air raids happen this moment and, next moment, trained workers move in and repair all damages, filling craters and leveling up the runway with a solid slate of macadam. That was five decades ago. But in the year 2017, Nigerian authorities are on the verge of closing the country’s Number One connection to the outside world for three months because a runway is to be repaired.

    It beggars belief. It calls to serious question the sense of judgment of those who purport to direct Nigeria’s affairs. For those who love this country, the shame is overpowering. Yet, there is an urgent necessity to save face, to point to an alternative that is reasonable, viable and bereft of the pointless complications inherent in an entire closure.

    The volume of air traffic at Abuja is increasing exponentially. This means that, whether or not our aviation “experts” appreciate it, the construction of a second runway is inevitable sooner rather than later. May we suggest that, instead of embarking on the foolhardy enterprise of shutting down the Abuja Airport, those touting the harebrained venture should spare a thought for the wisdom of the emergency construction of a second runway that could be completed in the three months that has been slated for mere repairs of the existing runway. The main advantage of this option is that, while the new runway is being constructed, the old one would remain operational. Thus, the embarrassing contingency of shutting down an international airport on flimsy grounds would be averted.

    The construction of a runway is not exactly a faculty of rocket science. There is nothing in it that is not thoroughly understood by construction companies operating currently in Nigeria. We have been told that a whopping N5 billion is required for repairs on the old runway. People who should know are insisting that a new runway may cost just as much.

    Nonetheless, it must be pointed out that the cost of repairing the existing runway and building a new one is not an issue here. I urge the National Assembly to intervene and approve emergency funding, even to the tune of N10 billion at least for the projects. Once this is done, the runways could be ready for use in no more than six weeks. If necessary two construction giants – Julius Berger and CCECC, say, could be awarded the contracts, working from opposite ends.

    To recap, this is the argument: Do not shut down the Abuja Airport. Construct a second runway. Once it goes into operation, the old one could be repaired. It is the only sensible choice open to us. The Nigerian Airways since went into oblivion, to the eternal embarrassment of the thinking segments of this country. We cannot allow the total closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport because a runway is to be patched up. That would make us the world’s laughing stock.

    Prince Nwoko, a former Member of the Federal House of Representatives, was the chairman of the House Sub-Committee of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

     

  • Baggage delay: Arik Air yet to pay NCAA N6m fine

    Baggage delay: Arik Air yet to pay NCAA N6m fine

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed that Arik Air Ltd. has not paid the N6 million fine imposed on the airline for contravening the provisions of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs).

    The General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, Mr.Sam Adurogboye, disclosed this on Friday in Lagos.

    The NCAA had on Dec. 27, ordered Arik Air to pay the sum for violating Part 19.7.2 and 19.17.2.1 (ii) of the Nig.CARs 2015.

    The NCAA also ordered the airline to pay its passengers, whose baggage were delayed on the London to Lagos route between Dec. 2 and Dec.4, $150 each as compensation.

    It was directed that the N6 million fine must be paid within seven days of receipt of the letter, while the $150 compensation to the passengers must be made within 30 days.

    Adurogboye said that the airline had not complied with the sanctions.

    “The NCAA has done its part in sanctioning the airline in accordance with international civil aviation rules and regulations.

    “However, Arik Air has a right to appeal against the sanctions and I am sure that they have done that and we have to wait until the determination of the appeal before taking any further action,’’ the NCAA spokesman said.

    Adurogboye also said that no formal complaint had been made to the NCAA concerning the recent incident involving some aggrieved passengers and a staff of Arik Air at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    According to him, the NCAA is only concerned with regulating civil aviation and has no security outfit to prevent such incidents.

    “We only appeal to aggrieved passengers not to take the law into their own hands.

    “There are various security organizations at the airport that are responsible for that but the duty of the NCAA remains that of air safety,’’ he said.

     

  • Cuba, Russia improve cooperation, sign new pacts

    Cuba, Russia improve cooperation, sign new pacts

    Cuba and Russia on Thursday has signed seven cooperation pacts covering technology, military, industry, aviation, medical equipment, and railroad transportation.

    The pacts were signed during a visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

    Cuba-Russia cooperation is in its best shape in over two decades thanks to both sides’ political willingness to deepen their ties, said Cuban Vice President Ricardo Cabrisas.

    Rogozin said Moscow and Havana are key allies in facing “external pressures” from Western powers.

    “Several Western countries like the United States try to put pressure on us by imposing sanctions, but Russia and Cuba share the same idea regarding independence and sovereignty,” he added.

    Russia is one of Cuba’s top trading partners and Havana seeks to deepen cooperation with Moscow. The Soviet Union was the island’s main ally until its disintegration in 1991.

    Rogozin travelled to Havana after visiting Venezuela, where he met with President Nicolas Maduro.