ASRTI Tasks NCAA On Review Of Aircraft Certification Process, Manpower
Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) has called for a review of the processes involved in aircraft certification in Nigeria as well as the prevailing manpower issues in the aviation industry.
Speaking at the Stakeholders’ Engagement focused on Transforming the Aviation Industry through Strategic Partnerships: Advancing Airport Sustainable Development organized by the Federal Ministry of Aviation & Aerospace Development, 2nd Vice President of ASRTI, Dr. Alex Nwuba, while commending the Minister, Festus Keyamo (SAN) “on his vigorous push to address long overdue industry issues,” said: “We have been demanding a review of the aircraft certification process, and the meetings have been delayed. General aviation is the backbone of aviation, and it remains the most challenged component of the Nigerian sector. There are people facing incredible challenges registering a small private aircraft. It is even more burdensome than registering an airliner. We also respectfully request the review of aircraft age policy. It is the effectiveness of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that is involved here, not the age of the aircraft.
We have seen that the NCAA knows it’s job. We also call for educating our lawmakers on the issue of aircraft age.”
Nwuba said “continuing our current policies on aircraft age will ensure that 90% of our airports remain moribound.”
He further highlighted the challenges surrounding industry manpower. “There are no mechanisms to climb the ranks for pilots, engineers, cabin crew, dispatchers, and almost all. They train and sit at home. We know there are global jobs gaps and without mechanisms for growth, in a short while, the industry will shut down. Honourable Minister, we must work collaboratively, government and stakeholders as partners can save the industry,” he said.
Nwuba equally called for proactive steps to reduce airfares and applauded “the innovations of the NCAA in technology, which the Director General forgot to mention. This addresses ICAO challenges, and we encourage the NCAA to continue in its technological pursuit.”
He complimented the Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for her many achievements and in particular, her out-of-the-box ideas that go beyond buildings and runways to creating avenues for business to grow and patronize airports and airlines such as the aviacargo initiative.
However, “there are some issues, created mainly from the separation of NAMA and FAAN. These include cost issues like domestic flights landing on the international runway and taxying to the domestic terminals. There is also the issue of aircraft landing short of the fingers and having the cost of being towed a few feets. We request that FAAN addresses this.
There is a particularly tricky issue of aircraft being cleared for take-off to airports that will be closed by the time of arrival,” an issue he said FAAN and NAMA should address, describing it as a constraint created by the concept of sunset airports.
The so called sunset airport needs very little efforts to extend their operational hours. Solar- powered runway lights and a few allowances for navigational staff could do the trick,” he said.
Speaking on the created African Aviation & Aerospace University (AAAU), Nwuba said: “For AAAU, it is imperative that we create avenues to transform education to job opportunities. We believe that the government and citizens will be better served by a closer collaboration and coordination or possibly, merger of AAAU and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT). These institutions must be drivers of the process of job creation. We cannot continue churning out graduates without a path to employment.
Honourable Minister, you spoke of your revenue drive. We hope we remember that ICAO guidance is cost recovery, not profit. We also call for a review of government policy that dips it’s hands into revenues of agencies such as FAAN. FAAN can do a lot more with its revenue.”
ASRTI is a non-governmental organization committed to addressing aviation industry issues across sectors, from airlines, unions, and all stakeholders, including through partnerships.
