Sade Williams/Business a.m.
Remi Jibodu, chief operating officer of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, the operators of Murtala Muhammed Airport 2, sees the signing and implementation by Nigeria of the Cape Town Convention Practice Direction boosting capacity in the aviation industry.
Jibodu said the CTC will encourage airlines to be able to get dry leases, which means streamlining aviation equipment financing, cost reduction and flexibility in the choice of utilising local crew as against foreign crew.
His views were expressed when executive members of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) paid a courtesy visit to the company’s office at MMA2 in Lagos recently.
“In Nigeria, unless you have private funds, if you look at the financial institution, vis-a-vis what is happening in the industry now, you have interest rates of about 30 percent plus. The inflation is about 24.7 or thereabouts. So it means that if you are borrowing money from the bank, it is going to be very difficult for you to break even, especially when they are putting the cost in terms of lease agreement on you,” Jibodu said during the meeting.
He believes that with dry lease, airlines would be able to maintain existing crew, which would also develop their own pilots in Nigeria, increase revenue and also allow them to employ more people.
However, he advised that in talking about capacity, the routes should be taken into consideration as some routes are not very well serviced while others like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt are well utilised.
To balance the disparity, Jibodu suggested that the government should endeavour to create trade centres in various airport locations to speed up economic activities.
“So if you bring in capacity today, what the airlines are looking at is, if I put this capacity, am I going to fill it? But, you know, the first thing that must happen is to establish trade centers, and the airport is just the one to ensure that we connect those trade centers since economic activities are already there,” he stated.
Emphasising that airline operation is not about one way, and that both ways have to be calculated, the Bi-Courtney COO added that “one of those things we encourage the government is to ensure that we develop the economic activities. We have new airports coming up, you know, states and all of that. But the truth about it is that do they have economic viability for you to be able to sustain that airport? So we are looking at that, to ensure that when the government increases the activity, the connectivity will be very easy.”
Aside from the fact that facilities are there to have a smooth transition from the car park to customers’ final boarding gate, Jibodu emphasised that the company has a lot of things in-between in relation to the vast space available at MMA2.
Explaining how BASL is harnessing its large space available at the terminal, the COO said that, in the last two years, the company has seen fantastic things springing up.
With over 100 tenants, he pointed out that the number is increasing as another bank is coming on board.
“Even in terms of rentals, I think a bank is coming up again. So we are going to be having more outlets. So we are not just an airport or an airline.
Noting that the terminal welcomes from about 10,000 up to 15,000 people, including the footfalls that come in and out of the facility on a daily basis, he encouraged the government to ensure that they expand what they are already doing.
On cargo, the COO said the company is desirous of contributing to that cargo chain and that was why they started the cold storage last year, which is trying to fill that part of the cargo chain.
Admitting that Nigeria has a lot of things going by road, which is risky, Jibodu informed that BASL is already developing and growing the cold chain in the system.
“So now, if we have a dedicated freighter system, which we are encouraging; and we are talking to some people about this, we want more people to come into the business, so that we can be able to move these goods and redistribute all over Nigeria,” he added.
After 18 years of managing MMA2, Jibodu said that, with what the company has achieved over the years, they should have the first right of refusal of any airport in Nigeria.
He affirmed that having done it for almost two decades, BASL has the capacity to be able to extend the same management prowess to any airport in Nigeria, and even the West Coast.
On passenger traffic at the terminal, he said, “From April last year downwards, it was not as good as what we have from January. Immediately, Dana Air left, you understand.
“At some point, we also had very serious economic issues. I think around July, August, when the fuel went to about 4,000. It readjusted after one or two months. Then by October, it started picking up again and all of that. So we have these ups and downs.
“Averagely, it’s better than what we had in 2023. We believe that we are still going to do better this year. Looking at the foreign exchange, I think it has come down to 1,400.
“It is a little bit stable. This is because before, every week or every day, you are having debt going back and forth. So it’s a little bit stable.
“We believe that probably the government and the economic team will do something better this time around. They will rebase the economy. But majorly for us, it’s productivity. Because that’s what gives traffic. So, if productivity increases, then this year will be a very fantastic year,” he said.
In his remarks, Idris Suleiman, chairman of LAAC, commended BASL, urging them to continue to sustain seamless facilitations, just as they have been doing.
Suleiman said, “passengers’ comfort is uppermost in aviation business so the terminal management in collaboration with airlines must always ensure prompt, seamless facilitations to ensure they get to their destinations on time.”
According to the LAAC Chairman, the terminal prides itself as the leading privately managed terminal on the African continent and it should continue to improve on its facilities and processes.
