2023 promises, failures in aviation sector


By [url]Currenttimesng.com
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As we bid farewell to another eventful year, it is essential to reflect upon the significant promises and failures that have shaped the aviation sector in 2023.


The aviation industry, regulated by its parent Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, led by Mr. Festus Keyamo, plays a pivotal role in connecting people, enabling travel, and facilitating global trade.


Throughout the year, the sector faced numerous challenges, disruptions, breakthroughs, and promising advancements that transformed how we perceive air transportation and the country's overall development.


In the past decade, Nigeria's aviation industry has definitely progressed with the arrival of additional airlines and an increase in the number of airplanes in the sky.


Despite the Keyamo's disclosure that the sector contributed about N117 billion which is 4 per cent to the GDP in the first quarter of 2022 as it supports about 200,000 jobs and pays about N8.5 billion in tax annually, however, this growth has not resulted in a substantial impact on the country's overall economic output, known as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).


This is so because even as Nigeria prides herself to be the giant of Africa, enjoying the status as one of the populous countries with over 200 million people, sadly, less than 10 per cent of this said population fly in a sector largely considered elitist and exclusively reserved for the affluent.


In all of these highs and lows, in 2023, there was a lot of light beaming at a distance as the country transitioned from one democratically elected government to another. This also meant a change in the Ministry of Aviation, which oversees six agencies responsible for civil aviation and helps operators in the system.


However, as the year winds down, it cannot be said that the industry has gained any momentum as stakeholders and other major players in the industry have expressed concerns that not much successes could be joyed upon in 2023.


Nigeria Air


For example, the former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika had on assumption of office rolled out an aviation development master-plan, which has the launch of a new national carrier, concession of the airports, aircraft leasing company and maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) organization among others in focus.


Conceptualized to be a legacy project of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, the Nigeria Air project sought to give Nigeria and Nigerians a sense of pride in having a national carrier. Most African countries, including those that borrowed a leaf from the defunct Nigeria Airways, now have their national carrier.


However, 2023 witnessed major events about the establishment of a national carrier. Indeed, the euphoria and anxiety that trailed Sirika’s assurances that Nigeria Air will fly before the expiration of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure is suggestive of the extent to which most Nigerians long to have a national carrier.


To ensure he kept his words, he hurriedly arranged an Ethiopian Airlines plane draped with the logo of Nigeria Air, and made it fly to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a few hours to the end of Buhari’s tenure in office.


Before unveiling the aircraft with registration number ET-APL at the General Aviation Terminal of the Abuja airport, Sirika said shortly after it landed that it was a very long, tedious, daunting and difficult path, just as he expressed relief that the project had taken off.


Most Nigerians were understandably, elated by the fact that the Air Nigeria project was kicking off in 2023, a year in which the International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects ‘good tidings for the industry’ with Carriers in Africa expected to narrow losses to $213 million, from a projected loss of $638 million in 2022.


However, few days after the purported flag-off by Sirika, the acting managing director of Nigeria Air, Captain Dapo Olumide, told the 9th Senate’s Committee on Aviation that the Airlines had yet to secure an operating licence for full flight operations, saying the processes were still at the early stages.


The aircraft that flew in with the logo of Nigeria Air, Olumide said, was chartered from Ethiopian Airlines for the purpose of unveiling the logo.


“And that is what we did. But in this case, it was to unveil the logo of Nigeria Air. Ever since 2018, all you have ever seen about Nigeria Air were pictures, drawings, not the real aircraft, and we thought it was time to show what the real aircraft will look like. Also, to let shareholders see. We have institutional investors; they are not in aviation but they are putting their money for 10 to 15 years, so they need to see what the actual aircraft will look like.


“So, when this aircraft came on a chartered flight, everybody said we have launched Nigeria Air; there are learned people in the aviation industry who could have countered that when social media came out, but they chose not to,” Olumide told the lawmakers.


The impression Sirika gave Nigerians when the aircraft draped with the Nigeria Air logo landed in Abuja was that the project has taken effect and many Nigerians believed the next task was for them to go online to check the airlines’ routes and make bookings preparatory to flying. Clearly, that will be a long time coming, if it ever comes at all.


This move, however, generated a lot of domestic and international concerns over the Nigeria Air project, as some described it a 'fraud of the century.'


However, the emergence of Festus Keyamo as the current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, in the same 2023, brought another narrative about the National Carrier, saying the project remains suspended.


2023 is over and Nigerians are yet to know about the investigation as promised by Keyamo when he emerged Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.


Furthermore, checks by Vanguard revealed an unexpected twist on the much-anticipated revival of Nigeria Air appears to be conspicuously absent from the recently approved 2024 budget by the Federal Government.


Unions’ strike at NAHCO


Nigerian Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Services, disrupted flight operations when workers of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO aviance) embarked on strike over poor remuneration and welfare package.


This affected local and international flights for 10 hours before a truce was reached but not without huge revenue losses to airlines


Lingering $792m trapped funds


Also, as 2023 winds down, trapped funds of foreign airlines are yet to be resolved despite Keyamo and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's promises of resolving the protracted issue.


However, [url]www.currenttimesng.com [/url] had earlier reported that there are indications that foreign airlines may soon exit Nigeria’s airspace in the coming days. This is coming on the heels of over $792 million of their funds stuck in Nigeria, a development that is currently threatening their operations expansion globally.


President Bola Tinubu, however, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to create a platform for quarterly reconciliatory meetings with foreign airlines to address the backlog of their fund.


But till date, nothing has come out from it, as there have neither been any meeting or funds released to any of the airlines.


The International Air Transport Association, IATA, Regional Vice President Africa & Middle East, Kamil Al-Awadhi, during a media presentation with African journalists at the IATA Global Media Day in Geneva, called on the Federal Government to take the matter seriously.


He listed Nigeria as the country with the highest amount of airlines’ blocked funds at $792m followed by Egypt, $348 million, Algeria, $199 million, AFI zone, $183 million and Ethiopia, $128 million.


Aviation Safety


In 2023 there was great fear over rising cases of aircraft near-miss incidents within Nigeria’s aviation industry.


For example, an incident occurred when a Boeing 737 Jet with registration number 5N-BYQ belonging to Aero Contractors Airlines crashed and landed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.


Similarly, another incident happened last week when a private HS25B aircraft operated by Flint Aero narrowly averted tragedy as it crash-landed on the runway at Ibadan, Oyo State.


Passengers on board including the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, escaped death.


Also, about six months ago, 143 passengers in a Max Air aircraft with registration No: 5N-MBD escaped death after the plane crash-landed at NAIA when the plane’s tires burst and went into flames.


Although, no deaths have been recorded in these incidents, the occurrences evoke fear in the minds of Nigerians over aviation safety, despite assurances by NSIB to investigate the accidents


Speaking with Vanguard, Capt. John Ojikutu, an industry expert and the CEO of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consult, said that the country’s aviation regulatory agencies must step up their regulatory responsibilities to ensure aviation safety.


“Pending a report from the investigation on the incidents, someone said there was a crack in the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport runway surface. If there is a crack in the runway, the runway is poorly managed and maintained. There is supposed to be periodic maintenance on the runway. FAAN is responsible for maintaining the runway crack that caused the air crash.


“However, the incident could be caused by the airline operator or the pilot. What is the pilot’s currency, the aircraft’s status, and the runway? NSIB would unravel this information,” he said


Also, in response to this reoccurring air accidents, the Minister emphasized that the recent spate of air accidents in Nigeria cannot be attributed to natural disasters but instead points to a failure in regulatory oversight.


Controversial airport concession


Despite Sirika's claim in May that he had completed the process of concessioning the airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt, there has been no visible change in their structure. Doubt, misgivings, and disbelief still surround the events that have supposedly taken place.


Both national carrier and airport concession were signature projects under the six-point aviation development roadmap of the immediate past administration unveiled by Sirika. However, there were doubts about whether any of the roadmap projects was achieved in the eight years of the administration.


The new minister, Mr. Festus Keyamo, on assumption of office, suspended the airport concession project citing controversies trailing it.


Big administrative shake-up


Just as the year 2023 witnessed the transitioning of democratically elected presidents, the aviation sector was not left out as Keyamo succeeded Sirika over the mantle leadership of the Ministry.


Even though many Nigerians were unsure if Keyamo, a lawyer by background, could effectively lead the sector, he quickly announced his five main goals for aviation after being sworn in with the other members of the FEC.


The roadmap contains: Strict compliance with national laws and regulations; and international obligations, improvement and development of infrastructure for passenger convenience; support for the growth and sustenance of local airline businesses; human capacity development and optimisation of revenue generation.


As if the change at the ministerial level was not enough, the new minister sacked all the agency chief executives and directors, providing room for another change of batons in the six agencies including the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).


The newly appointed CEOs have assumed their respective offices while 46 newly appointed directors are also taking over from those earlier sacked by the government.


Read more on: https://www.currenttimesng.com/2023/12/26/2023-promises-failures-in-aviation-sector/