Minister meets aviation chiefs over sector's woes

THE Minister of Aviation, Fidelia Njeze, yesterday held a closed door meeting with chief executives of various agencies in the sector with a view to proffering solutions to some of the problems in the industry.

Also, Njeze expressed displeasure over the alarming rate of the presence of disabled aircraft in the nation's airports across the country. The trend, she said, was obviously assuming a worrisome dimension hence the need for a proactive measure to stem it.

The minister made the remark in Abuja yesterday while inaugurating the ministerial committee for the removal of displaced aircraft from airports in the country.

The umbrella body for all domestic operators, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) also met yesterday to review the situation they said had affected immensely their operations.

In attendance at the meeting held in Abuja were the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun, Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Dr. Sam Oduselu, Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Captain Adebayo Araba, Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Alhaji Ibrahim Auyo and the Managing Director of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Dr. Emeka Anuforo.

A source told The Guardian that apart from seeking solutions to the myriad of problems confronting the sector, the withdrawal of services by the FAAN AT THE weekend from debtor carriers which invariably led to dislocation of air travel was also part of the reasons for the discussion.

The minister was said to have been piqued by the frequent grounding of airlines by various agencies in the industry which has added to the sufferings of travellers.

The source noted that the minister was favourably disposed to the agencies collecting their money from the carriers without necessarily dislocating the sector which has seen so many crises in the last one month.

The FAAN had on Saturday withdrawn services from all the carriers citing huge debts running into more than N4 billion. The withdrawal caused big hardship to passengers who for many hours were not sure of the next line of action to take.

The situation led to congestion at both the new domestic and old terminals of the Lagos airport, prompting many to shelve their trips. The situation brings to four times in one year that FAAN and NAMA would be taking a similar action against the debtor airlines.

Njeze had shortly after she assumed office met with the carriers and the various agencies on how to reschedule their old debts to NCAA, NAMA and FAAN which were estimated at N12 billion.

At the meeting, Njeze directed that the airlines spread their old debts within 32 months, while services would now be given on a cash and carry basis.

Speaking to The Guardian, the Assistant Secretary of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Muhammed Tukur , said while it was not good to owe for services rendered, he urged the airports authorities to devise another method of collecting their debts rather than the grounding of all airlines over the issue of debts.

He explained that AON was getting worried by the manner the withdrawal was carried out without putting the travelling public into consideration.

THE Minister of Aviation, Fidelia Njeze, yesterday held a closed door meeting with chief executives of various agencies in the sector with a view to proffering solutions to some of the problems in the industry.

Also, Njeze expressed displeasure over the alarming rate of the presence of disabled aircraft in the nation's airports across the country. The trend, she said, was obviously assuming a worrisome dimension hence the need for a proactive measure to stem it.

The minister made the remark in Abuja yesterday while inaugurating the ministerial committee for the removal of displaced aircraft from airports in the country.

The umbrella body for all domestic operators, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) also met yesterday to review the situation they said had affected immensely their operations.

In attendance at the meeting held in Abuja were the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun, Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Dr. Sam Oduselu, Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Captain Adebayo Araba, Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Alhaji Ibrahim Auyo and the Managing Director of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Dr. Emeka Anuforo.

A source told The Guardian that apart from seeking solutions to the myriad of problems confronting the sector, the withdrawal of services by the FAAN AT THE weekend from debtor carriers which invariably led to dislocation of air travel was also part of the reasons for the discussion.

The minister was said to have been piqued by the frequent grounding of airlines by various agencies in the industry which has added to the sufferings of travellers.

The source noted that the minister was favourably disposed to the agencies collecting their money from the carriers without necessarily dislocating the sector which has seen so many crises in the last one month.

The FAAN had on Saturday withdrawn services from all the carriers citing huge debts running into more than N4 billion. The withdrawal caused big hardship to passengers who for many hours were not sure of the next line of action to take.

The situation led to congestion at both the new domestic and old terminals of the Lagos airport, prompting many to shelve their trips. The situation brings to four times in one year that FAAN and NAMA would be taking a similar action against the debtor airlines.

Njeze had shortly after she assumed office met with the carriers and the various agencies on how to reschedule their old debts to NCAA, NAMA and FAAN which were estimated at N12 billion.

At the meeting, Njeze directed that the airlines spread their old debts within 32 months, while services would now be given on a cash and carry basis.

Speaking to The Guardian, the Assistant Secretary of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Muhammed Tukur , said while it was not good to owe for services rendered, he urged the airports authorities to devise another method of collecting their debts rather than the grounding of all airlines over the issue of debts.

He explained that AON was getting worried by the manner the withdrawal was carried out without putting the travelling public into consideration.

Source: http://odili.net

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