Key players react to 2017/2018 with mixed feelings •Say FG has much to do in 2018

With five days away from 2017 and four days into 2018,  stakeholders across the aviation sector have continued to react with mixed feelings to issues that happened in the year just ended and expectations in the new year.

According to Mr. Olumide Ohunayo, Director at Zenith Travels in Lagos, though the year  was an undulating one for the sector, he however expressed satisfaction with the ability of the aviation authorities to retain the United States highest safety standards, the Category One status and the successful hosting of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) World Aviation Forum, the first of such to be held outside Montreal,Canada, the headquarters of ICAO which showcased the potential of Nigeria and its aviation potential.

While identifying the celebrated certification of two international airports of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja as a plus, Ohunayo however lamented the poaching of two private aircrafts at the Lagos airport saying what would have been the celebrations of 2017 “was punctuated by the dual assault on the cargo hold of two aircraft  taxing on the runway at MMA airport. These did not help the very slow and obviously not too transparent concession policies of the federal federal government at these airports that has dragged on since the conception of the government.”

He was not comfortable with the performance of the domestic airlines in 2017 saying: “The airlines are not competitive neither are they attracting investors , rather what we see are  expansion of services without commensurate corporate governance and acceptability.”

Ohunayo, therefore, appealed to the federal government in the new year “to look at our airlines and be prepared for a long drawn surgical procedure which will deflate egos initially but benefit all in the long run.”

While declaring that nothing has changed at the various aviation parastatals, he cited what the cosmetic restructuring embarked upon early last year “as a mere garbage in garbage out. The ministry has sustained the politicized process hence, the non viability and low productivity.”

In the new year, he however tasked the ministry of transport to “prepare the surgical table for our airlines and agencies if we want to applaud come December 2018.”

For Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), the managing director of Centurion Security, year 2017 was started with the closure of Abuja airport because of the neglect for many years for  repairs which he said led to the low passengers in air traffic recorded up till the third quarter of last year.

While noting that the 2016 passengers and air traffic records were lower than 2015;  he however lamented that; “already with the poor beginning this year  (2018) we are having inclement weather that have started having poor records on traffic both passengers and air. This will have serious consequences on airline’s earnings and government IGR.”

On the incidents of aircraft poaching that took place towards the end of last year, Ojikutu stated: “The reports of recent airport security breaches do not give credence to the various certifications accorded to some of our airports and I believe there is a lot of work for us to do.

There were cases of aircraft collisions with aircraft and with ground handling vehicles; we need to expand airport aprons to accommodate parked and maneuvering aircraft and vehicular traffic  just as we need to train aircraft marshals.

For Ojikutu, lots of flight delays and cancelations due to inclement weather could have been avoided this year if there had been efforts to upgrade the ILS at most viable airports from Cat. 2 to 3.

Speaking on the performance of the domestic airlines in the outgone year, the security expert declared: “The airlines did not fair well either with the taking over of Arik Air and Aero because of huge recurring debts, results of poor management and absence of regular economic regulations on the part of the NCAA?

Many of our domestic airlines are venturing into regional and continental routes: this could sound great, let us see how many of them would return foreign earnings to Nigeria.

Speaking on the airlines that are clamouring for international routes,he said: “Do they know that 80% of China Airlines passengers are domestic and only 20% are international? We need to improve the landing facilities at our domestic airports including the night landing facilities to enable the airlines fly at all timed.”

He acknowledged that Nigeria fared well on the international scene with the holding of two a international Civil Aviation Organizations (ICAO) forums which he said lifted Nigeria higher than most countries in Africa”

In the new year, Ojikutu challenged the government on the volume of work calling for attention.