Experts set to develop aviation cargo guidelines

Participants at the second edition of CHINET Aviation Cargo Conference held in Lagos have thrown their weight behind the call to set up a technical committee made up of representatives from stakeholders in the aviation cargo value chain to develop “An Aviation Cargo Guideline” to chart an implementable and seamless cargo processing guide to ease aviation cargo facilitation and increase cargo volume and traffic.

At the end of the intensive two days of deliberations, the participants declared their support for the plea by the managing director of the federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Captain Rabiu Yadudu on the need to set up the committee.

Following the position of the FAAN MD, the committee which was subsequently set up consist of representatives from the Aviation regulatory agency,  the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and FAAN.

The committee is expected to harmonize the points raised by the different speakers and produce a guideline that can be implemented in the short term and subsequently upgraded into a growth plan for the industry. The guideline should be delivered in 90 days.

At the event, local airline operators were urged to create more local routes to move cargo, particularly perishable farm produce to areas of demand, to curtail food shortages and inflation. This will also increase the wealth of farmers and those in the distribution chain.

The gathering also tasked the Federal Government to strengthen the ease of doing cargo business by fostering collaboration and streamlining the various agencies in cargo facilitation in the airports for the purpose of eliminating the challenge of duplication of charges and turn-around time in the facilitation.

Insurance companies were urged to dedicate more funds to financing aviation cargo.

To improve the processes of aviacargo business in Nigeria, key players at the conference moved that the government should stop multiple levies of export at the airport which they said made export, especially agricultural products more expensive when compared to other African countries.

According to the communique issued at the end of the two days conference: “Government should simplify the process/procedure of export operations at the airport. Moving from one table to another should be discouraged. One-stop-shop is ideal. Preferably, one document is to be filled by the exporters. Multiple government agencies at the airport should also be discouraged”.

Packaging standards and product traceability were also discussed and exporters have been charged to work in line with global standards.

The second edition of the Chinet Aviation Cargo Conference was a follow-up to and an evaluation of the impact and achievement of the resolutions reached in the first edition held in 2021.

The conference emphasized the need for the public and private sectors to collaborate to find a lasting solution to the challenges militating against the aviation cargo business in Nigeria.