The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has lamented use of many airports in the country for Hajj operations.
The Authority’s Director-General, Captain Musa Shuaibu Nuhu, made this known at a meeting held on Monday among the Ministry of Aviation, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and other stakeholders with a delegation of the Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), led by its president, Abdulaziz A. Duailej in Abuja.
Nuhu, according to a statement signed by NAHCON’s Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Fatima Sanda Usara and made available to Tribune Online on Tuesday, lamented that many of the airports used for the operation are without sufficient facilities or capacity for international flight operations.
According to him, NCAA had set up a committee that reviewed and identified lapses in the 2022 Hajj operations.
He informed that the findings and recommendations of the committee would soon be made known to the relevant bodies.
The NCAA DG, however, urged airline operators to make provision for not only large-capacity aircraft but also backup ones.
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Speaking earlier, Aviation Minister, Captain Hadi Sirika, announced that Hajj and Umrah operations in the country would be streamlined under strict regulations with a view to making local airlines stronger as well as protecting Nigerians going to Saudi Arabia from experiencing difficulties.
Sirika called for a review of the 50/50 Hajj passenger-sharing formula between Saudi Arabia-owned airlines and those of other Hajj participating countries and requested the GACA president to consider Nigeria’s peculiarities in this regard.
On his part, NAHCON Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, requested information on the scope of operations which the Advance Payment Guarantee (APG) covers under GACA guidelines.
The clarification, according to Hassan, was necessary in view of the problem encountered during the 2022 Hajj where NAHCON had requested its APG to be used to allow one of the airlines involved in the airlift of Nigerian pilgrims, Azman Air, to commence airlift before the airline’s own APG would be approved.
According to the statement, Azman Air lost 11 days of operations due to a delay in its APG being credited to its IBAN account.
The NAHCON boss also requested GACA to make known early enough which Saudi-based airline would be deployed in the Hajj operations, adding that information on Saudi-recognised private charter flights be forwarded to NAHCON to enable the Commission to monitor their activities.
Usara further stated that Hassan requested that security identity cards for NAHCON staff posted to airports for Hajj operations be made readily available to the commission.
The NAHCON CEO then informed that by the middle of this month, the Commission would begin aviation-related activities in preparation for the 2023 Hajj.
Responding, GACA president, Duailej, disclosed that his presence in Nigeria was part of preparations for the 2023 Hajj process to ensure hitch-free operations.
Duailej emphasised the importance of early planning to avoid hitches, saying that in view of this, GACA and the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah have concluded plans to make known all modalities for the 2023 pilgrimage season in time to give participating countries a grace of at least five months for prearrangements.
He, therefore, expressed hope that Hajj air carriers would remain operational throughout the year and not just become functional during Hajj.
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