Stories by Louis Ibah
Why do airlines advise passengers to turn off all mobile phones and all electronic appliances prior to aircraft taking off and landing, and sometimes even while it is at a cruising altitude? This is one question that almost any curious first time flyer on an aircraft or even regular flyers would like to get an answer to. Sometimes you are still fiddling with the phone trying to make the last call or send perhaps a last SMS to a close friend or family members. It could be to alert that you are about to depart and to get the other person at the other end informed so that they can pick you up once you arrive. It could even be, particularly for those with a phobia to fly, a call for a prayer of supplication for a safe flight. Then from nowhere, comes the warning; it’s a voice from the aircraft public address systems. “Please turn off your phones and any other electronic device”. For years, frequent flyers have complained about the inability to use their electronic devices on planes. Several people have questioned why they can’t make phone call from their cell phone during a flight?
The reasons
This reason has its basis in both practical applications of science and in the law. Cell phones and wireless devices such as laptops emit active transmissions on the electromagnetic spectrum, also found in devices that include phones, radios and Wi-Fi networks. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has the jurisdiction over the use of electronic devices on airplanes and it has banned the use of electronic devices on planes for fear that the electromagnetic interferences associated with their use could affect the delicately calibrated and critically important instruments used to help the pilot fly the plane. Had an electronic device given off a strong enough signal, it could have negative impact on the aircraft navigational equipment, garbled radio transmissions, or otherwise interfered with the plane’s instruments. Anyone who has ever set a mobile phone near a radio or television speaker and heard the effects which alters the sounds from the speaker will readily appreciate and understand the reason for this concern. Imagine what that sort of interference multiplied by the dozens or hundreds of passengers on a particular aircraft all using electronic devices at the same time could amount to. It would be a real catastrophe. It could compromise the aircraft safety. American aircraft manufacturer, Boeing also investigated several cases in the 1990s where aircraft crews reported that laptop computers or gaming devices caused autopilot disconnects, uncommanded airplane rolls or instrument display malfunctions.
Ban on Samsung Galaxy Note 7
Last Tuesday, Nigeria joined the United States of America, Australia, and other European countries to ban the use or even the charging of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 mobile phones on any airborne aircraft in the country. It will be recalled that Samsung has recalled over 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 devices it manufactured recently citing several reported cases of overheating and outright explosion by users.
“ NCAA has directed passengers not to turn on or charge these devices on board aircraft,” said the NCAA. .
“In addition, these phones must not be stowed away in any checked-in baggage and importantly, all airlines are hereby advised to emphasise the prohibition of this devices on board during passenger briefings by the Cabin Crew,” the statement added.
The saying that to be forewarned is to be fore warmed comes it handy here. If you are a passenger on an airline and are asked to turn off the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 or any electronic device for any reason, whether you believe it to be valid or not, please comply. Indeed, your compliance will ensure the safety of your flight and will also save you from facing serious criminal charges from the NCAA. The same weight of the law applies to anyone caught smoking on board an aircraft.
Domestic airlines to save N26.5bn annually from import duty waivers
Domestic airline operators in Nigeria now have some reasons to smile as the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has commenced the implementation of a new Federal Government duty free policy on imported aircraft parts.
With the absence of a functional Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility as well as any aircraft spares manufacturing firm, Nigerian airlines rely entirely on importation of component parts of aircraft which have to be routinely changed in line with manufacturers specifications. The parts don’t come cheap either.
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) usually charge five percent duty on any aircraft imported into the country, as well as aircraft spares, engines, and other accessories.. And in recent months, operators have cited the huge cost of sourcing for foreign exchange (forex) to import these parts into the country as one of the reasons hurting the fortunes of the local airline industry. In response to their plea, the government in July this year granted an import duty waiver on imported aircraft parts and spares to commercial airline operators to ease their operations. Two months later, operators said the NCS had failed to implement the policy. Operators like First Nation had even cited their inability to get the NCS grant in waivers to import critical engine components into the country on time as part of reasons for delaying the maintenance work on one of its aircraft.
Customs had cited the ambiguity in the policy and the fact that it had a automated software that captures all imported items and their duty value and that it needed some time to re-programme its software to capture the waivers for commercial airline spares. Spokesman for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Yakubu Dati, however said last week that the Minister of State for Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, had waded into the issue and that Customs had now commenced the implementation of the policy.
“This policy would save Nigerian domestic airlines that were paying at least 5 per cent import duty on every spare part, about N26.5 billion per annum,” said Dati.
“This means the era of Customs holding on to airlines’ spare parts has become a thing of the past. One of the gains is that downtime will reduce because an airline can import an engine and within a day clear it with Customs and on the second day mount it on the aircraft and start operations, ” said one industry official.