Stories by Louis Ibah
Between March 8 to April 19 2017, the Federal Government will be shutting down the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja to conduct emergency repairs on its spoilt runway. The government said it has earmarked about N5.8billion for the runway project. This was as an estimated N1.1billion is being spent to fix the Kaduna Airport slated to serve as an alternate airport for all Abuja-bound flights during the six weeks the Abuja airport would be shut.
The decision to divert flights to Kaduna airline has however not gone down well with foreign airlines operating into the Abuja airport. Three of the airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways, and South African Airways have all expressed their decision not to fly into the Kaduna airport, citing logistics and safety concerns as reasons. And there are indications that in the weeks ahead many more foreign airlines may pull out of the arrangement.
But some observers believes the development present great opportunity to three local airlines operating schedule flights into Kaduna airport, namely Arik Air, Aero Contractors, and Azman Air. The closure of the Abuja runway no doubt has serious safety, security and cost implications and local and international passengers will have to face the great inconvenience of travelling by road from Kaduna to Abuja amidst several security uncertainties. Airlines, service providers, employees and the national economy will all be negatively impacted by the closure. It is estimated that about N2billion would be lost for the six weeks the Abuja airport would be shut.
But industry analysts say the exit of the foreign airlines from the route opens an opportunity for local airlines to boost their revenue or income, if only they know what to do.
How did we get here?
The Abuja Runway was originally meant to last for 20 years. However, on the balance of probability of the fact that it was underutilised judging from the number of landings on it, its utilisation was further stretched by an additional 14 years leading to the current deplorable condition and the attendant grave safety implications as evidenced by several near fatal incidents that have occurred as a result of the bad condition of the runway.
President of the Aviation Round Table (ART), Mr. Gabriel Olowo, said the rot in infrastructure at Abuja airport could only have happened due to the fact that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which is responsible for conducting safety oversight of the sector, was docile and failed completely in ensuring that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) religiously complies with the Runway Maintenance Programme for NAIA, which is an operational safety requirement.
“The failure of FAAN to strictly follow the Runway Maintenance Programme and conduct regular repairs and rehabilitation as at when due coupled with the lethargic oversight of NCAA have effectively contributed to the situation where it is today,” he said.
About Kaduna airport
The Kaduna airport is located 22 kilometers northwest of the city of Kaduna. Its 3,000meters and 9,843 fet runway is made from asphalt. Kaduna Airport no doubt has recorded two major accidents. But the two accidents recorded in 1995 and 2010 were related to flaws on the airport runway, even though the Federal Government had since fixed the runway to be able to cope with local and international flight.
The first accident involved a Nigeria Airways Flight 357. On November 13 1995, the Boeing 737-2F9 Nigerian Airways flight, during its second leg of the flight from Jos to Kaduna, over ran the runway at Kaduna Airport, leading to a fire incident that destroyed the aircraft. All 14 crewmembers survived, while 11 of the 124 passengers died.
Similarly, on August 20, 2010, Chanchangi Airlines Flight 334, operated by Boeing 737-200 5N-BIF struck the localizer antenna and landed short of the runway. Several passengers were slightly injured and the aircraft was substantially damaged. Chanchangi Airlines thereafter suspended its operations into Kaduna airport following the accident.
But things are said to have improved in the recent past and the Kaduna airport runway and other infrastructure have witnessed an upgrade that can allow it serve as alternate to Abuja airport.
What some stakeholders say
The decision to shut down the Abuja airport and divert flights to Kaduna has indeed divided key stakeholders in the industry, especially Nigerians along lines of those in support of and those against the decision.
For instance, Managing director of Centurion Securities, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (Retd) faults the use of Kaduna Airport and suggested the Minna Airport would have been better.
Said Ojikutu, “Must we divert Abuja traffic to Kaduna? Why can’t the Minna Airport serve the purpose for the local flights? After all it is closer to Abuja than Kaduna. The runway (Minna) will still accommodate aircraft whose takeoff and landing runs are within 1000 to 2000 metres.”
Ojikutu said that the choice of Kaduna for air traffic diversion was one that was bound to scare most of the foreign airlines away.
“While the domestic airlines may find Kaduna airport convenient, the current security threats in that state may not make the airport attractive to the foreign airlines particularly those from the EU and US.
“For them to want to use Kaduna for foreign airlines, I have my doubts that the airlines will go there for security reasons,” he said.
Also speaking, the chairman, governing board of the Nigerian Aviation Safety Initiative (NASI), Capt. Dung Pam, said Kaduna Airport does not have the capacity to cope with the anticipated traffic.
“It is going to be a serious dislocation of the nexus of our air travel system. Every major airport in the country connects to Abuja and Lagos. So, to have that place completely shut down for six weeks will be a huge blow to the travelling public,” he said.
Opportunity for local airlines
But what analysts agreed to, is that the closure provides an opportunity for local airlines operators to take advantage of the situation by increasing their flights into Kaduna from Lagos and other major cities around the country and making more revenue. Until recently, there were 14 international airlines operating about 70 weekly flights to Abuja. With the withdrawal of Emirates, Delta and Kenya Airways from the route, the weekly flights by the remaining airlines will now be about 55 flights weekly.
President of ART, Mr. Gabriel Olowo, said assuming that each inbound and outbound flight has 100 passengers, conservatively there would be 5,500 passengers inbound and 5, 500 as outbound or 11,000 passengers to and from Abuja via Kaduna weekly or about 1600 inbound, and outbound passengers daily. He explained that conservatively, these would require about 20 flights from our domestic airlines if they would be encouraged and reasonably develop capacity to take advantage of this opportunity which the closure of Abuja is likely to create for them.
Moreover, the closure will give local helicopter operators an opportunity to operate commuter services between Abuja and Kaduna.
Local airlines can also sign code-sharing agreements with foreign airlines, which could allow them airlift passengers drooped at the Lagos airport on behalf of the foreign airlines. Already, Arik Air has announced it has such a partnership with Emirates. It behooves on the other airlines like Aero, Dana, Azman, Medview, First Nation and Air Peace to reach out to the foreign airlines that fly into the Abuja route to sign similar deals with them.
Future plans
FAAN should ensure that it develops a Runway Maintenance Programme (RMP) approved by NCAA if none is currently available. NCAA on the other hand must through regular oversight, ensure FAAN’s compliance with approved Runway Maintenance Programme. Furthermore, the Runway Maintenance Programme must be factored on periodic number of landings rather than on the age of the runway. Finally, Periodic Runway Maintenance Programme would make repairs and maintenance possible if the Runway Maintenance Programme is regularly implemented. Furthermore, government needs to ensure that movement and facilitation of passengers between Abuja and Kaduna is clear and unambiguous in the interest of safety and security. The protection of airline officials and their assets should equally be a top priority. Moreover, the huge funds currently being committed into other sectors all in the name of using Kaduna Airport as an alternative could have been saved and better utilized in the aviation sector if only those responsible for maintaining the runway had been more proactive from the outset.
A), and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) to the tune of over N47billion.
But for 2017, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), says airlines would be subjected to more stringent and periodic financial audit. The trend marks a huge departure from previous regulatory functions of the NCAA which was focused predominately on the safety operations of the airlines, their crew and the airports.
“We will increase our safety oversight to sustain zero accident in the aviation sector. We are reviewing and strengthening economic regulations and airline operational books are to be sighted with increased regularity and appropriate sanctions will be applied,” said Director General of the NCCA, Captain. Muhtar Usman in a release made available to Daily Sun. The new policy makes it mandatory for airlines to allow the NCAA inspect their financial books to ascertain that airlines were run in line with best practices as it concerns accountability. “We will move to ensure airlines’ compliance with Nigerian civil aviation regulations, all outstanding debts must be paid, while passenger comfort will remain paramount to us,” he added.
Usman said at present, the NCAA was engaged in robust regulation,proficient safety oversight, increased surveillance on all certificate holders in the industry, daily ramp inspection, and spot check inspection on maintenance facilities all geared at zero accident rates in the industry.
Dana Air, Meridiana partner on Italy-Nigeria route
Meridiana Fly, Italy’s fastest growing airline, is partnering Dana Air and Dre Aviation of Ghana to launch flight operations from Italy into Ghana and Nigeria.
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, Dre Aviation’s Mr. Paul Bassam Saade, said, “a prudent approach was taken by Meridiana when entering these highly competitive markets, but we have demonstrated stable operations and a growing commercial presence for them in West Africa and they are pleased with the results.
“Supported by Ghana’s first affiliated global aviation advisory firm, Dre Aviation, and one of Nigeria’s leading airlines, Dana Air, Meridiana Fly entered into the West African market with an iconic Boeing 767-300 series aircraft, and a superior on-time performance rate of 99.5 per cent,” he added.
Saade reaffirmed the airline’s commitment to the Nigerian and Ghanaian markets by confirming both routes in its summer schedule for 2017.
Commenting further, Saade said, “the airline would be rescheduling its flight times, which now means a late evening departure from Lagos which arrives in Italy’s Milan Malpensa Airport early the next day, allowing Nigerian passengers to onward connect onto Meridiana services into Europe and beyond.
“This is a compelling proposition as the fares are much cheaper than other carriers into Europe and offers a real alternative for the travelling public. Our fares start at $350 all in for a one way ticket into Europe,” he added.
He noted that more frequencies will be added in due course and that Dre Aviation is ramping up the market initiative for the carrier in both Ghana and Nigeria.
He said with a record 4.5 million passengers flown in the last eight years of its operation, Dana Air is providing key operational staff to the Nigeria operations.
He lauded Dana Air’s safety and technical capabilities, which have seen it currently operating over 27 daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Owerri. “The airline is reputed for its superior on-time performance, world-class in-flight service and customer service,” he said.
Medview seeks better cooperation with immigration, airlines
Managing Director/CEO of Medview Airlines Limited, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, is seeking greater collaboration between airlines and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to ease passenger movements at international airports in the country.
Bankole who spoke in Lagos at a send-off ceremony organised for the outgoing Officer-in-Charge of NIS at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Mrs. Chizoba Adaeze Dibi described both NIS and local airlines as ambassadors or mirror that projects the culture and values of the country to visitors or foreigners, adding that there was need for both establishments to always work together.
“From whatever point of entry, immigration represents the image of the country and as local carriers, there is no day or week or month that we also don’t fly and we also represent the Nigerian brand,” said Bankole.
“The relationship between airlines and immigration is therefore one that should be seen as mutually beneficial and we will always ensure it remains so,” he added.
In her speech, Mrs. Dibi, who has been moved to head the Edo State Command of the NIS, thanked airlines, officials of the immigration, customs, police, banks and Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for their cooperation in easing her work during her tenure at the Lagos airport. She listed some of her achievements to include boosting the welfare of immigration officers, the speedy facilitation of international passengers at immigration counters, as well as bringing to an end the abuses of Nigerian passengers by some foreign airlines.
Mrs. Dibi said the Lagos Airport command of the NIS was recently singled out for commendation by the Comptroller for Immigration owing to improvements in service delivery at immigration counters to passengers coming in and leaving the country.
“During my stay, services improved and everyone that uses the Lagos airport can attest to this. I thank everyone that assisted me to bring about those positive changes,” she added.