Many factors militating against sunset operations at Nigerian airports — Finchglow GMD

Despite the ongoing clamour for sunset mode of operations to be allowed across the country’s airports, a travel expert and the Group Managing Director of Finchglow Holdings, Mr Bankole Bernard has said the lack of some critical facilities may not make the operation feasible.

Bankole who spoke at a conference titled ‘Sunset Airports: Economic and Safety Implications’ in Lagos, stated that some critical components required for the enablement of sunset operations at the country’s airports were very huge.

According to Bankole: “Taking a cue from advanced countries all over the world, some factors determine if an airport should operate for 24 hours or not. Some of these factors include the traffic on the route, the cost of operations, is the business within the airport able to sustain the operations, navigational equipment and a long list of other factors. Having considered these, should all major airports in Nigeria operate 24 hours daily? I don’t think so.”

In defence of his position, the travel expert cited some grey items he believed may not make the sunset operations work in all the airports to include: the level of traffic the proposed 24 hours airports record annually and how many domestic airlines in Nigeria have schedules for 24-hour operations.

His words: “To drive this thought further, there are a few more important questions to ask. The first is, what level of traffic do the proposed 24 hours airports record annually? How many domestic airlines in Nigeria have schedules for 24-hour operations? What is the economic impact of operating for 24 hours? Who bears the cost of operations? Should FAAN decide to make provisions for 24 hours operations on these routes, are the airlines able to pay for these services, and has there been any intentional effort to drive traffic to our airports such as creating non-aeronautical sources of revenue like cinemas, amusement parks and other attractions around the airports?”

He argued that the present system was not perfect with so much to be improved upon at the airports while he mentioned how the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) which had earlier requested that some airports are given room to operate 24/7 but in the end pulled back when it came to financing.

“Having said this, it is clear that both the operator and the facility manager have challenges of their own, however, if properly done, the economic impact of putting our airports to maximum use, a shift from only aeronautical sources of revenue can better position us economically in the Nigerian aviation industry.

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Speaking on the possible solutions in the face of the numerous challenges confronting the sector, Bankole suggested the modernization of airport terminals with shopping malls which he said will contribute to the commercial viability of the airports and other necessary infrastructures like the internet and constant power supply to support businesses.

“How about considering other sources of power? We must begin to think of an alternative power supply like renewable energy to keep the airport functional and reduce the cost of operation in the long run. This will also make the airport viable and attractive.

“Another area to consider is providing affordable hotels which will give credence to investments. The ability to provide Bed & Breakfast (BnB) hotels around the terminals of some of these airports will be of great attraction and will increase the viability of the airport as well.

“Lastly, there is the area of interconnectivity within the airports. The interconnectivity of the local airports to the international airports will contribute to the economic viability of these airports. It will also bring the connection to such airports, hence it will not be limited to one drop-off and pick-up.”

While describing Nigeria’s airport system as a work in progress, he advised that certain issues should be addressed starting from personnel, policies, financing and many others.