By Chinelo Obogo
Centre Director at the Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), Prof. Anthony Kila and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ibom Air, Mr. George Uresi, are respectively are among the experts that would participate key papers at the forthcoming 26th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC).
The conference with the theme: ‘Sunset Airports: Economic & Safety Implications,’ is scheduled to hold on July 28, 2022 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers.
A statement by the Conference Committee Chairman, Mr. Chinedu Eze, stated that the two major papers which would focus on passengers and airlines experiences at the nation’s airports would point the way forward for the Nigerian aviation industry, especially on the full utilising of aerodromes.
Kila, a Jean Monnet professor of Strategy and Development and provost at the Washington Institute of Strategic and Developmental Studies would present the first paper with the topic: ‘Passenger Experience in Daylight Airports, while Uriesi would present the second paper with the topic: ‘Maximising Runways Utilisation.’
The academic is also an international director of studies at the Enterprise Coordination and Approval Processing System (ECAPS) in Cambridge and a regular analyst and commentator on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). A Vice Chancellor and Heritage Prize winner, he has taught in a variety of colleges and universities in Cambridge, Ipswich, Lecce, London, Perugia and Siena. He is an expert of internationalisation and joint ventures and he has worked on various international projects across the globe.
Ibom Air’s Uriesi’s 31 years career includes more than 27 years in aviation, beginning at ADC Airlines in Nigeria and proceeding to South Africa where he spent a few years in FMCG as Logistics Manager at Procter and Gamble South Africa.
He returned to aviation, joining the newly corporatised South African Civil Aviation Authority, where he became General Manager for Aviation Safety and then on to the Airports Company of South Africa, where he was appointed as the General Manager of Cape Town International Airport, which he completely rebuilt for the World Cup in 2010. Later, he was appointed Managing Director of the Federal airports Authority of Nigeria in 2011 for a brief period.
Uriesi has played active roles in the aviation industry as a member of the International Air Services Council of South Africa and a member of the Economic Regulating Council of Airports and Air Traffic Control of South Africa. He was also the Vice President for the Africa Region of Airports Council International. He holds a BA (Hons) degree from Bendel State (now Ambrose Alli) University, Ekpoma, as well as several professional qualifications.
The conference would be chaired by the Chairman of Finchglow Travels, Mr. Bankole Bernard, the Group Managing Director of Finchglow Holdings. Bernard is also the Chairman of the Airline and Passenger Joint Committee (APJC) and the immediate-Past-President of the National Association of the Nigerian Travel Agents (NANTA), the umbrella body for the over 6,000 travel agencies operating in Nigeria.
Bankole is a member of the Hospitality and Tourism Committee of the Institute of Directors (IoD), a member of SKAL International and a member of the Nigeria-South African Chamber of Commerce (NSACC).