Sade Williams/Business a.m.
A full and comprehensive digitalisation of the operation of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is in the works following conclusion of the planning stages before implementation commences.
The digitalisation programme is to enhance the discharge of its oversight duties.
Ahead of implementation, the NCAA has trained its staff and those of airlines on the process which aims to improve service delivery.
Under the new arrangement, the civil aviation regulator will be deploying the necessary digital platforms for the processing of approvals, licences, renewal of recertification, as well as the treatment of passengers’ complaints.
Chris Najomo, the acting director general of the NCAA, disclosed at the weekend when declaring open a training programme for the consumer protection portal recently unveiled by the authority.
According to Najomo, the new portal will not only make it faster and convenient to resolve complaints by passengers in record time, it will also serve as a barometer for assessing the performance of both local and foreign airlines operating into Nigeria.
Najomo said the capacity building programme was put together to equip personnel of airlines and the regulatory body to find lasting solutions to incessant complaints lodged by passengers on either delayed or cancelled flights and other service failures in the travel space.
To drive this, he said the NCAA has to retool its responsibilities by adopting the digitalisation of most of its operations using the latest information technology applications.
He said: “We have gone far. We started this Regulatory Safety Oversight Software (EMPIC) process two years back and right now we’ve had some training. The people have come to train our people and they are deploying this system. This software is going to digitalise the whole system. The AOC system, certification, recertification, licensing, you will see it’s going to be awesome.”
The NCAA boss said the minister of aviation, Festus Keyamo, is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that local carriers have access to convenient aircraft acquisition by engaging major aeroplane manufacturers.
He said: “The minister has been doing a lot to assist in this direction by going round to talk to aeroplane makers and other players on how to get aircraft.
“He has been engaging Boeing, Embraer, and others on how to secure dry leasing for our local airlines. And he’s done so much.Very soon you’ll see that result will come out so that our airlines will be able to get aeroplanes and bring them in for use.
“It’s capacity that is making what we’re having, having all these delays and cancellations. And all these airlines will key into it. Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines, they’re all doing everything possible to get dry lease aircraft. That is the way to go,” he said.
On when the minimum of six aircraft in the fleet policy will take off for Nigerian carriers, Najomo said the regulator is tweaking the policy to ensure its implementation aligns with the scope of operations of individual carriers.
He said: “We are tweaking that, even though it takes effect from 2025, but we are looking at the regulation very well, whereby it will suit what operation you want to do. If you’re going to go to a full-blown airline, we will look at the regulations and maybe the six aircraft that will come in. But there are some operators who just want to do maybe – Lagos-Ibadan, Lagos-Ilorin, and all that. So, we’ll look at the regulation and say, okay, maybe you should stick back to the three aircraft and see how it is. We want to encourage more people to come into the industry.”
On the benefits of the training and the portal, Najomo said: “The portal provides on-time monitoring of airline performances. This is in addition to monitoring passenger handling procedures during checking, boarding, disembarkation, and discomfiture.
“The data gathered will give us, the regulator, you, the service provider, and the public, the end-users, a reliable determination of performing airlines. Note that the public can see on the official NCA website the performances of all airlines. Everyone will be able to gauge the best and worst performing airlines from a consumer service standpoint.”
He further said: “Now, this portal has not been unveiled, it’s going to be launched, but we have to make sure that this training is key. We have done our training for the staffers, it’s important that we engage all stakeholders to see how this portal works.”
