A year after the administration of President Bola Tinubu came onboard, many aviation experts say the government has not achieved much in the aviation industry, but with the strong foundation laid so far, the sector may be on the growth trajectory.

The new government had appointed Mr. Festus Keyamo as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development last August, three months after swearing-in.

Immediately after his appointment, Keyamo unveiled his Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the sector, which include: Strict compliance to safety regulations within the sector, Support for the growth and sustenance of local operators; Improvement of infrastructure within the sector; Human capital development and Optimisation of revenue generation in the sector.

Since his appointment, Keyamo has been building bridges beyond the shores of Nigeria, meeting with important persons in the industry and staying true to his words of ensuring a better working environment for all the strata of players in the sector, especially the airline operators by opening the opportunities doors for them. He is also addressing the factors that hamper the growth of local operators. He observed that the operators have poor survival records over the years.

Speaking on the government’s performance a year after, Grp. Capt. John Ojikutu (retd), said that the present administration had not done much in the last 12 months, even though, he said the ministers for each sector were appointed barely nine months ago. He, however, said that Keyamo, though a lawyer, but as the minister for the sector, required a help and cooperation of all stakeholders to move the sector forward, especially in formulating and driving policies for the sector.

Ojikutu advised the government to reverse some of its policies for the development of the industry. He specifically mentioned the controversial $300 landing fee for helicopter operators, multiple entries for foreign airlines and political interference in the affairs of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by the ministry, among others that must be reversed for growth and consistency of the industry.

On the $300 landing fee for helicopter operators, Ojikutu wondered how helicopters would be charged for landing on private helipads, querying if the government was collecting landing charges from aircraft that land in states airports like Asaba, Anambra and Ibom.

He also urged the government, especially the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development not to involve itself in the safety regulation of the industry, saying such power rests solely in the purview of NCAA.

He warned that interferences in the running of NCAA by the Ministry may ridicule Nigeria in the comity of nations, most especially from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which he said frowned at such meddling.

He said: “An airline’s aircraft had runway excursion you are suspending the airline without waiting for the report of the investigation. Your reason was because of previous incidents. That is irrational and that is an indictment on the NCAA, which is the only civil aviation authority, not the Minister or anyone in the Ministry.

“ICAO will charge this into the report of the NCAA. The Minister should take his hands off the statutory functions of the responsible regulatory and service agencies,” he said.

Besides, he appealed to the government to ensure the restriction of foreign airlines to either Lagos or Abuja airports and not to Lagos and Abuja, but said the foreign carriers should be allowed to make a second choice to the alternative geographical location to the first choice.

Also, Ojikutu appealed to the present administration to continue with the concession plan of the nation’s international airports, which was started by Sen. Hadi Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation, but was truncated due to lack of transparency.

Ojikutu, however, opined that the concession exercise must be limited to non-aeronautical services alone, which should include, the passenger terminal buildings, cargo terminal, carparks, tollgates, land areas for handling services, hangars, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities, shopping malls and hotels among others.

“All these must be done with considerations for safety and security and with the approval of the NCAA not the Ministry or the Minister,” he said.

Besides, Mr. Amos Akpan, aviation expert said that the Tinubu’s administration had been busy trying to catch-up with what it considers applicable solutions to the problems in the country through its reactions to rising inflation, energy crisis, insecurity, lack of forex and insufficient funds to meet expense budget. He regretted that that despite the efforts of the government to address these problems, the challenges kept mounting and multiplying faster than the government could proffer and apply solutions to them.

For instance, in aviation, Akpan explained that the sector had been unstable in recent months due to myriads of challenges. He, however, commended Keyamo for his effort at applying solutions to existing challenges in the sector.

He lauded the Minister for assisting Air Peace to secure the commencement of flights on the Lagos-London route, adding that he had also shown support for the heads of the aviation agencies in expunging some of the existing challenges.

But, Akpan kicked against “the drive to generate revenue hurriedly and at all cost from the agencies in the industry” by the minister, stressing that operators are already paying for the services rendered to them by the agencies. He insisted that the agencies were supposed to use the payments they generate from the operators to provide and maintain the facilities and infrastructure as well as upgrade them.

In a bid to move the sector forward, Akpan suggested to the government to provide the platform by which operators in the industry could access funds at single digit interest rates on a minimum tenor of seven to 15 years, encourage existing MRO organisations to get more space and equipment to accommodate aircraft operated by Nigerian airlines and a functioning and verifiable Total Radar Coverage of Nigerian (TRACON) airspace.

He further canvassed for the certification of airports in Nigeria by NCAA, maintaining that each airport must be classified in accordance to status of infrastructure and facilities provided.

He added: “Align the training curriculum of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria to meet the manpower needs of the operators in the industry, determine the personnel and equipment NCAA needs to carry out effective oversight on the operators in the industry and provide them. Too much gaps currently exist.

“There should be punishment for negligence and infractions by persons in office. Somebody must account for breaches and infractions in the agencies, notably for failure to do their jobs. Also, the government should include in their key performance indicators monitoring and ensuring existing infrastructure and facilities are maintained, repaired on time, and upgraded.

“This government should set up yardstick that keeps these facilities functioning at installed capacity, plus install intervention program for predictable return to service when any equipment breaks down.”

Despite the challenges, Akpan hoped that by 2027, Abuja and Lagos airports would have become hubs for West African travellers. He added that by 2027, cargo planes should be able to depart daily from the country’s Agro Airports, hoping that the country would have complied with international standards in its services and operations.

Comrade Frances Akinjole, the General Secretary, Air Transport Staff Senior Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), lauded the relocation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) back to Lagos earlier in the year as one of the achievements of the present government in the sector.

Akinjole, lamented that the agency’s staff, just like the others, were forcefully relocated without adequate provision by the management of FAAN and the Ministry.

He emphasised that despite the relocation, FAAN and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), were residing in rented apartments, while the office spaces in Abuja were derisory.

He insisted that the return of the agency back to Lagos was without political undertone as claimed in some quarters, stressing that it was a decision that would promote efficiency and productivity of staff and management.

He said: “If you will recollect, we (unions), vehemently kicked against this in time past, considering the fact that they were just sending people to Abuja without making adequate preparation for them to stay there and this is not limited to FAAN alone, but to every other agencies that their staff were relocated in the sector.”