Chairman of Westlink Airlines, Capt. Ibrahim Mshelia, has declared that the Aviation industry in Nigeria is battling too many oppressive forces.
The forces, he said, “are manmade and natural,” adding, “The natural is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has devastated, not only the Aviation sector nay Nigeria alone.”
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He spoke in Lagos during the 25th Annual Conference and Awards organized by the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) with the theme, “Nigeria’s Aviation Industry: Management, Policy and Regulation”.
This is just as the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, declared that the industry is still facing financial distress.
He said it would take the next two years for the industry to recover from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
Mshelia, who was chairman of the occasion, stressed the need for the regulatory authority to rethink the processes and procedures, especially the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) process.
The AOC is the approval granted by a nation’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to qualified aircraft operator(s), so it can use the aircraft for commercial purposes.
He decried what he called the lopsidedness in the procurement procedures and the operational limits of AOC holders in Nigeria, saying, “there is an urgent need to amend our act and policy in this area, to empower the civil aviation to also break down the certification process of our commercial operations.”
“The word AOC has been so over-valued like a village masquerade that appears once in five years. This is not supposed to be so. Operations specifications, in this regard, is the masquerade and not the certificate. I believe the speakers here today, and even the DG, NCAA will agree with me in their subsequent comments,” he said.
According to him, “By ICAO standard, small, large and medium operations, including; Air Taxi, Air Charter, Cargo Only, nonscheduled and Scheduled operations etc, are recognised.”
The FAAN MD reiterated that without ample financial resources, it would be difficult for the industry to recover.
He called for aggressive implementation of policies, saying while the industry is performing well in terms of Regulation, implementation remains an issue.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi, stressed that aviation is key to the socioeconomic development of the country and advocated “consistent palliatives” to keep the industry afloat.
He added that every stakeholder must work very hard to ensure the industry is safe and secure.
He said the six aviation Bills before the National Assembly would soon be passed.
Chairman/CEO of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema lauded the Federal Government for putting in place policies that would create an enabling environment for the airlines to survive.
He however advised airlines not to engage in “devilish competition”, saying, “We can compete in a very good way. Competition brings about efficiency.”
