Nigeria aviation sector resilience, following airports’ recertification
Olubunmi Kuku, managing director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), receiving the certificates from Chris Najomo, acting director general, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
Amid calls to sustain the momentum, Sade Williams captures experts’ views, suggestions on way forward for Nigeria’s aviation sector after the recertification of two international airports — the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The Nigerian media were recently filled with the news of the recertification of two major international airports, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The recertification, four years after the airports were certified in 2020, makes the development an auspicious one in the Nigerian aviation industry. Thus the euphoria it generated is worth it, say people familiar with the industry.
The recertification of the two airports shows that they have both met the required safety and security standards stipulated for operations by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The certification was issued by the regulatory authority, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which guided the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) through the process of closing over 100 gaps, and was supported by technical documentation.
The process, according to ICAO, ensures that an airport meets the following standards:
Safety: The airport has the necessary equipment for firefighting and rescue.
Compliance: The airport complies with relevant international standards and recommended practices.
Efficiency: The airport’s operations are regular and efficient.
Therefore, the purpose of the Airport Certificate issued to FAAN is that it provides the airport operator and airlines with documented proof that the facilities they operate or use are safe.
This remarkable feat, which appeared daunting to previous management, industry observers and experts believe, was made possible in a short period under the new leadership of FAAN, led by Olubunmi Kuku, its chief executive officer, due to hard work even in a challenging environment.
Olayinka Abioye, secretary general, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) said it is a win-win situation for both FAAN as an airport operator and all airlines, both local and international.
“Airport Operating Certificates or Aerodrome Certificates are usually issued to airports that comply with safety and emergency response requirements specified in Part 139 following the provisions of ICAO Annex 14. Such requirements cover a wide range of issues, including signs, lights and markings, runway safety, aircraft rescue and firefighting, aviation fueling safety, and wildlife hazard management.
“This latest one comes after four years when the same two airports were certified by our CAA as having met Standard Recommended Practices and Procedures, with [a] risk management element, which also meets the demands/requirements and or expectations of airline operators in whose benefits these requirements are considered and put in place.
“By all means, it is a win-win situation for all as there is no gainsaying the significance of this laudable accomplishments, it is a great way of showcasing FAAN as an organisation ready to do serious business and ready to comply with Recommended Practices and Procedures of the ICAO and the local regulatory authority, the CAA. The Olubunmi Kuku led FAAN has therefore shown commitment in this regard and I want to believe that this success will galvanise FAAN to move ahead for the certification of other major airports more so with the renewed federal government planned concession and or commercialisation of these airports, all things being equal.
“As I often said, FAAN has the suitably qualified personnel and dedicated workforce to accomplish greater things if given the opportunity to do so but you will also agree that several issues had been politicised in the past which tended to have affected almost everything and everyone.
“My thinking now is that under the Kuku led administration, FAAN is poised for growth, expansion and new impetus to dare. There are many areas which require attention that can help deepen the internal revenue generation process and if these areas are attended to in good time, infrastructure upgrade and worker motivation can further enhance FAAN visibility as a serious organisation that means business and ready for foreign direct investments,” Abioye said.
Ademola Onitiju, a retired air commodore and president, Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative, described the certification as welcome development, calling for sustainability and improvement of other airports.
“Efforts should be intensified to improve the status of other equally important airports in the country. I see it as affirmation of the efficiency and tenacity of purpose on the part of FAAN’s new managing director. However, the recertification could be further commended if it impacts the traveling public in terms of fewer flight delays and cancellations and prompt provision of satisfactory response or resolution of complaints lodged by the travelling public. A more customer- centric approach is required.”
Chris Aligbe, former general manager, corporate affairs, defunct Nigeria Airways, said the recertification has positioned Nigeria’s airports for excellence.
Aligbe, who disclosed that the low scores Nigeria recorded during the ICAO audit was from the aerodromes under the purview of FAAN, noted that the erstwhile DG of NCAA, Musa Nuhu “complained vehemently that there were so many gaps, over 100 that needed to have been closed by FAAN before the audit, he said he would not be surprised if we failed, and eventually it happened. It only required FAAN to do their job under the guidance of the NCAA. But it is interesting now to see that two airports have been recertified.”
Describing Kuku as a ‘Poster-CEO’ in aviation, Aligbe said: “The new MD of FAAN is not a technical person, she is a business and a commercial person. For her she has seen aviation management as business. This recertification is very outstanding but people may not know this, she is outstanding, a Poster-CEO, somebody that knows what it takes to turn the airports around, she has concern for excellence and has keyed into the commercial opportunities in FAAN”.
Aligbe noted further that one of the benefits of this achievement is that airlines have confidence in flying into the airports, adding that the recertification has positioned the airports ahead for Category One status.
Yakubu Dati, former general manager, public affairs, FAAN and a former commissioner for information in Plateau State, in a monitored interview on TVC, also spoke about the giant strides being made by the managing director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, to improve age-long infrastructure decay at many of the country’s airports, the recertification of the Lagos and Abuja airports, among other developmental strides taking place in the country’s aviation industry.
According to Dati, the recertification shows that there is a rebound in the aviation sector in the area of growth of the airports.
“The new helmsman, who is a woman, who we are having for the first time and within such a short time, barely 11 months, she has been able to get recertification of two airports which was not done more than four years ago and put on the global aviation map. For instance, FAAN received two awards at the Airports Council International in South Africa. She was also made board chairman of the African Airport Council. All these achievements within a short time for somebody who is coming to a male-dominated field but her training in finance and being not a novice in the aviation industry because she came with a focus and direction.
“She is talking with action and the action speaks louder than words. We just had a workshop at the Aviation Round Table (ART) where all the think tanks of the aviation industry came together to share ideas and she was the only CEO and that shows she is always putting her feet on the ground. The key factors are the issues surrounding safety and security because safety is number one when it comes to the airport and that is why the umbrella universal safety regulator ICAO always emphasizes the issue of safety,” he said.
The former FAAN’s spokesperson revealed that shortly on assumption of office, and within one week in office, Kuku signed the safety protocol and has been able to achieve training of 1,400 staff, 2,000 man-hours of training for both staff and stakeholders.
“Aviation is a regulated industry and operates based on the technicalities of training and when you talk about people, you are talking about key airports. It is people, process and procedure. You have the people, they need the process and the technology and that is where training comes in. Prioritising training is where to make her work easier in such a short time. The early fruits are already dropping for everybody to see and to the celebration and acclaim of everybody.
“Other airports are ongoing because it is a long process and she has been able to cap two airports. That of Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu airports are ongoing and very soon, they are going to join the fray. She is also saying that we upgrade the status of the airports to Category 2. That requires putting certain infrastructure that is necessary for that categorisation, for that qualification. We believe that what has happened with just one year of being in office and trying to put all these together put her experience in collaborating with different agencies to be able to achieve that. It takes teamwork and somebody ready to be able to accommodate different opinions to be able to run a system as massive as the airport. As MD, she sits over 27 Federal Airports in Nigeria and the funding running those airports comes from two or three airports. So, to be able to do this requires multi-tasking to be able to put that together that is driven by 10, 000 staff”, Dati added.
On what it means for the flying public, Dati noted that a lot of confidence is being restored in the airport operations system.
“It also means that, for the airline operators, practitioners in the industry, especially insurance will now be cheaper to access and it is going to boost activities in the area because more international airports or key players will continue to give recognition to the Nigerian aviation sector. More funding will come and will provide the channel of $1 trillion to the economic target set by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Oluumide Ohunayo, spokesperson for ASRTI applauded the FAAN and NCAA leadership for the teamwork, saying however that sustainability is key.
“I want to look at the hard work and diligence of the FAAN MD, a fantastic woman who doesn’t talk too much, not out to impress people, she has decided to face her work irrespective of the economy or the environment, we must give her that credit. If you listen to the speech on the day the NCAA handed her the certificates, there were over 100 gaps that were closed, may be they’ve been trying to close it before her but couldn’t finish it but she just came, sustained the process and the zeal and ensured they closed them. I will also not shy away from commending the DG NCAA for working with them and ensuring this has happened.
“Now, what we should do is how to sustain it because these airports were certified before but they lost it. Look at the amount of time it has taken them to get it back; but now that they have taken it back, they must emulate the NCAA by ensuring that they retain it and even surpass expectations by ensuring that those gaps are closed forever by continuous monitoring and maintenance where necessary, certification and training. We should now move beyond these two airports and get other international airports certified. What it means is that you are reducing the cost of insurance for airlines and other service providers and once the cost of insurance is reduced, you expect that consumers will also benefit from it. I want them to sustain it before moving to other international airports and domestic airports. Congratulations to the team, most especially the diligent MD of FAAN,” Ohunayo said.