GAT:FAAN GOT IT WRONG AGAIN

The recent directive of FAAN is puzzling and dictatorial, considering these airlines have tenancy and operational agreements with FAAN, also operational issues are not with immediate effect as directed, they are well planned with both parties coming to an agreement that will give the least operational and disruption cost.

I just hope the directive is not sequel to the recent reconciliatory and interactive session of ICRC board in Lagos. That is a body saddled with the responsibility of monitoring and regulating concession agreements, which definitely cannot bite due to the delay in amending the ICRC Act; it has also lost the barking prowess to the house and senate committee on aviation respectively.

It was also alleged that some of those carriers board and park their aircraft at MM2, while they only sell tickets at GAT, in a nut shell generating revenue for Bi-courtey through and at the expense of FAAN owned ,GAT. Well, that brand of marketing is not new to the industry, it’s an age long marketing strategy employed by the local carriers. It’s not a bad idea provided they pay for those counters; FAAN can only refuse to rent out the counters at the expiration of their tenancy not using the forceful eviction mode.

It is also a sad realization that all concessions in the industry have been very messy which is a reflection of the process from begining, therefore all parties must be humble enough to accept that at a point in the concession process fairness and transparency which is the hallmark of an efficient concession process was breached.

We have come to the realisation that the managers of FAAN and the Ministry at the period, when these concessions were signed, compromised and also exhibited little knowledge of the legal booby traps in the agreement, which has come to haunt us now, like the Virgin Nigeria agreement, when an Honourable Minister dozily signed an addendum to the agreement, that was drafted in London on a Virgin Atlantic letter head.

The industry needs to move forward and all parties must be ready to shift ground and negotiate, looking for legal interpretation will give the concessionaires a tarred highway at the expense of a continuous sabotage from stakeholders and "under the table" concessionaires. If they refuse to shift ground or negotiate, then the entire industry “will be caught right dead fighting for their right of way".

Curiously, why was Arik a private carrier without any form of public participation excluded from the decree issued by FAAN ruling council to other privately owned carriers? Was it due to a pending court case, instituted by Arik? Or is it an attempt to surreptitiously hand over the GAT terminal to them? Whichever way fairness and transparency must be paramount or the attempt will join the industry's ever increasing messy concession statistics.

NON REMITTANCES OF TAXES AND CHARGES

on all tickets paper or paperless, it is clearly stated that this taxes or charges are owned by the different agencies, though collected on their behalf as obtained in other climes, the only difference is while in other climes the taxes and charges are remitted regularly or on agreed terms, in Nigeria the reverse is the case. We love "playing with other people's money", thereafter they will run to the ministry, presidency, e.t.c for protection and intervention when its time to pay up. The presidency should realise their intervention is clear case of robbing peter to pay Paul.


FAAN and related organisations must work out modalities of getting these charges as quickly as possible; in fact before the aircraft departs will not be a bad idea due to the embarrassing backlog. The action will inadvertently aid the efficient management of our airlines as they will be saddled with the responsibility using revenue generated from sales, loans while also working assiduously towards improving revenue form other ancillary options.

We should also understand that the airline industry is usually funded and dependent on loans to meet immediate and future operational targets while revenue generated are used to service these loans, run operational expenses and also act as necessary liquidity in an adverse period. If taxes and charges are to be used at all it is temporal with clear understanding of other parties.


The airlines should pay for their services and should equally demand for compensations when the service providers’ actions or in-actions affect or slows down their operations. The BAA chief executive Colin Matthews instigated an inquiry into the airport shutdown last month. He also agreed to forgo his annual bonus during the public outcry that culminated in flight delays and Virgin Atlantic was even bold enough to announce that it will hold BAA charges in his possession until a form of compensation was worked out.

It is a lesson for us all to be bold enough to accept responsibility and listen to public outcry. the agencies should also consider reducing their present charges which is not reflective of market realities while also waiving a certain percentage of these charges or taxes collected by the airlines, just as they have done with concessionaires, EFCC and other debt retrieving partners.

SAFETY: WE CANT BE COMPLACENT

The arrow head of our internationally acceptable level of aviation safety is Dr Demuren, using his professional competence and international clout. The federal government, staff and head of all agencies in the industry have also supported the process, not to forget the airlines, unions, the media and the different security bodies.

We should not be complacent, because we have to avoid losing this certification by sustaining and improving our ability to respond to significant increase in activity as well as improvement in technology, while also addressing noticeable gaps in other ICAO annexes outside Annex 1, 6&8.

Serious incidents and accidents are issues for the AIB and they should take the lead role not the NCAA, it’s very important to enhance safety by avoiding cross functionalism. The handling of the last Aero "smoke in the cockpit" incident, by the two bodies brought to fore the need for effective coordination. The AIB should take a cue from the NTSB.



The NTSB has been very firm in its responsibility and recently issued rules mandating airlines to provide it with timely reports about midair near-collisions information that in the past usually went directly to regulators.



Finally, the NCAA should endevour to make its Airworthiness directives and safety related fines open and assessable to the public, just like some other regulators have done, considering its has a mandate to coordinate and take a leading role in sub region. It also aids in informing and educating the public and stakeholders

AVIATION 2010: FULL OF PROMISES POOR IN DELIVERY

The year started with the reverberating backlash of the failed underwear bomber, whereby Nigeria was placed on the Terror Watch List, we reacted using home grown- Initial Gra Gra (IGG) threatening to break diplomatic relations and impose trade sanctions on the US, which obviously failed, we later opted for the sensible and appropriate diplomatic maneuvers and inter agency cooperation. Thereafter we succumbed to having Air Marshals on board US bound flights, agreeing to pass an Anti terror bill which is presently gathering dust in the legislative chambers, intelligence sharing with international security agencies and also, purchasing scanning machines for our international gateways, that stayed idle for over six months in our airports.

The ministry later presented the clustering concession programme to act as an alternative to the messy PPP inherited from the Obasanjo administration, we were waiting for the implementation and applauding Mr. Omotoba and the committee headed by Capt Dele Ore for the novel idea in our landscape, when the scandalous Abuja runway project broke-out. It eventually swept that administration from office

It was also later revealed by the House Committee on Aviation that the same minister granted Lufthansa Airlines waiver from paying royalties for extra frequencies, in exchange for facilitating a national hanger which is still-born and the ridiculous hub development of Abuja for a nonexistent national or flag carrier. Quite intelligently, the Lufthansa team quickly signed the agreement, starting with the extra frequency that was used to quickly storm the Irish market with promo fares to Abuja and other entry points, considering the lack of direct flights between Ireland and Nigeria, despite the huge potentials.

Also during the year and for the first time, in a very long period, the reshuffling at the ministry, which usually brings a new minister, did not come with the accompanying restructuring at the agencies, despite the jitters, lobbying and ambush that usually characterize such appointments. Unsurprisingly, the new minister followed the trend of commissioning partially completed, sponsored or debt financed projects with so much fanfare usually supported and financed by the agency heads.

The government was able to improve navigation through the Total Rader Coverage programme with the acronym TRACON. Also they improved weather reporting& prediction process by providing necessary equipment while aiding the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) with an investigative laboratory. They were also able to transfer ownership seamlessly after a protracted privatization process to the new owners Sky power Handling Company.

The airlines were unable to get out of the financial tail spin, even with the bailout offered by government through the Central Bank of Nigeria. The stringent condition of refinancing debts using fixed assets has made the fund inaccessible to the carriers while giving the banks a second layer of protection. The CBN, need to talk to their counterpart in India who has replicated the same process without any complaints from the airlines. The problem of the operators was further compounded by the disorganized cartel called Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) that body is completely marooned and need to anchor at the nearest port.


On the Aero-diplomacy front, the DG NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren was nominated unanimously, as the first African to chair the ICAO assembly. On the other side, our own Nick Fadugba resigned as the secretary of African Airline Association (AFRAA) barely three months in office, we were unable to replace him with a Nigerian, due to the poor membership of Nigerian airlines in that body. The airlines disappointingly did not attend African Airline Association (AFRAA) assembly, the Airport Council International (ACI) conference hosted by Nigeria neither were they present at the World Travel Market (WTM).


The comatose Sky power Catering was overran by a detachment of armed air-force personnel, just as they have done with other landed properties of FAAN spread across the country. I sincerely hope it can be reversed to aid the PPP arrangement of the present government.

The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) did not disappoint as they were able to confront the ministry, erring airlines, the air force and controversial concessionaires, in coordination with other like minds.

The year ended with the airport remodeling tool being used fervently by the government to assuage the discomfort suffered by the traveling public and its concomitants inefficiency and insecurity.

The foreign carriers who have benefited immensely from the anemic state of Nigerian carriers and have been able to get extra frequencies by offering, frequent flyers, exotic visit to their head office and country, GSA partnership e.t.c, to our officials, had to send a delegation to the minister complaining about the state of our airports, as expected the word remodeling was once again flagged by the minister while also hammering on capital flight-a self inflicted policy.

The Ethiopians, who have never claimed to be the giant of Africa, but are real giants in aviation, with a vibrant national carrier, has invested in a Togolese based carrier, to gain access to the West Coast market while at the same time nurturing our only IATA certified carrier ‘Air Nigeria’, the Ethiopian Airport Enterprise, recently announced $27.8 million remodeling of the Addis-Ababa international airport without necessarily parroting remodeling for close to a year.

We will not also forget the stowaway who lost his life while, trying to get to South Africa via the wheel well of an Arik aircraft and the embarrassing disappearance of DDC machines, right on the airside of the country’s premier international gateway. Some juveniles are being hurled to the magistrate or is it juvenile court, to show the world how effective the investigative agencies are, the government should also hurl itself before the court of the Universal Safety Oversight Programme of ICAO to know its level of compliance and ask itself why the airports are neither certified nor insured.

The incident is another wake up call to the industry, users and the government in particular that, category 1 certification alone without compliance with other ICAO annexes is tantamount to parting of the Red Sea. We should go further by crossing the red sea and get to the Promised Land.


The government need to keep the critical public travel expenditure with our carriers by passing ‘The Fly Nigeria Act’, while also encouraging a regulated consolidation to separate the boys from the men, if in doubt, they should ask the Indonesians or the Chinese what they have done, for the airports, Mrs. Re-model should follow the footsteps of the Ethiopians by acting rather than talking.

IMPERATIVES FOR AIR SAFETY- THE NIGERIAN FACTOR

Being a presentation by Olu Ohunayo
Head Research and Corporate Travel
Zenith Travel &Tours
At the Federal Ministry of Aviation Nov 29th, 2010

What is safety?
“it is a state in which the possibility of harm to persons or of property damage is reduced to, and maintained at or below, an acceptable level through a continuing process of hazard identification and safety risk management.”
Concept of Safety in Air Transportation
 Regulatory compliance
 Zero accidents or serious incidents
 Freedom from hazards i.e. threats to safety
 Error avoidance
 Attitudes of employees of aviation
The Era’s of Safety
 1st Era - safety improved as new technology and standard solves problem of previous equipment while isolated reactive improvement made in procedure and training which is usually after an accident or incident.
 2nd Era – this is usually termed the management system era, where organizations are more proactive and focused. They monitor service experience, making improvement while assessing management risk.
 3rd Era – here attention is paid to an organisation’s safety culture which nourishes the SMS in place. The SMS concept is an extension of the applicable management system.

 We can safely draw the following conclusions from the three eras:
 The relationship between technology and management system is straightforward.
 The relationship between management and culture is interwoven.
 That technology, management systems and culture are independent philosophies.
 Organisations must seek continuous improvement in each era to maintain high safety standard.
Safety Management Systems (SMS)
 Is a businesslike approach to safety? It is a systematic, explicit and comprehensive process for managing safety risks. As with all management systems, a safety management system provides for goal setting, planning, and measuring performance. A safety management system is woven into the fabric of an organization. It becomes part of the culture, the way people do their jobs (wikipedia).

 SMS is intended to support a move away from prescriptive regulations (which specify criteria that must be adhered to) toward performance-based regulations which describe objectives and allow each regulated entity to develop its own system for achieving the objectives. In other words, industry must develop its own policies and systems to reduce risk, which should include implementing systems for reporting and correcting shortcomings. The regulator then changes its emphasis from verifying adherence to the criteria to examining the organizational systems and their effectiveness.
SMS
 The most recent innovation with human factors approach in aviation safety is the introduction of Safety Management Systems (SMS).
 SMS is the focus on people rather than products or processes.
 Not a one size fit all, requires some flexibility.
 It is another layer in the safety process and not a replacement.
 Integrates human factors considerations across the whole organisation - Airline, AMO, ANSP, ETC.
 Defines sound system practices and procedures.
 Must not be induced by regulations alone, organizations should strive to make it a culture.
Safety culture is simply the way we do things = the Nigerian factor
 To have a safe culture we need management and leadership to compliment all other factors.
 Management and leadership have different functions.
 Management copes with complexity while leadership is about coping with change.
 Management place emphasis on analysis and control of resources.
 Leadership place emphasis on people with the objective of influencing the behavioral pattern.
 Management controls the SMS while leadership drives safety culture.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
 Presently drives our safety culture in conjunction with other organizations.
 Using the informed and reporting process as a pivot.
 Collect, analyse relevant data and disseminate safety information promptly.
 By encouraging non punitive reporting process to enhance safety.
 By encouraging the principle of just culture; where errors will not be punished if unintentional.
 By encouraging Airlines, Service providers and other organisations to do same.
 Recently attained the necessary Category 1 status for Nigeria, which confirms our compliance with Annex 1, 6, 8.
CAT 1
 It covers eight critical elements of safety oversight system
 - Primary aviation legislation,
 - Specific operating regulations,
 - Civil aviation system and safety oversight functions,
 -qualifications and training of technical personnel,
 - Procedures and technical guidance,
 - Licensing and certification obligations,
 - Surveillance obligations, and
 - Resolution of safety concerns.

CHALLENGES BEFORE US
 We must strive to sustain and retain the CAT 1 status.
 We should work towards the ICAO universal safety oversight audit programme (USOAP) which is on going and covers all other safety related annexes.
 Co-ordination and co-operation among the agencies within the industry should be enhanced.
 Airlines should endeavour to pay for services provided promptly while also remitting taxes owed and collected on behalf of the agencies.
 Need to quickly fix the airports with models to rebuild, remodel and maintain them without recourse to public funds.
 We must address the sophisticated touting problem prevalent at our airports.
 Organizations should encourage and open communication with their respective unions and staff.
 Economic audit of our carriers should be improved upon to stop the rot.
 Ownership of our carriers should be open to all Nigerians to attract necessary public support.

Addendum
 The Fly America Act is applicable to all travel funded by United States federal government funds and requires the use of "U.S. flag" airlines (not to be confused with flag carriers) with a few exceptions. These individuals include U.S. federal government employees, their dependents, consultants, contractors, grantees, and others. It is also applicable to all US government contracts issued to US and non US companies
Nigerian Maritime Admin&Safety Agency (NIMASA)
 Section 36 of NIMASA ACT
 Gives exclusive right to Nigerian owned shipping companies to lift cargo belonging to the federal, state and local government. It also includes publicly funded agencies.

We need a Fly Nigeria Act
 Keep that publicly funded market with our carriers.
 To strengthen our carriers financially.
 To attract foreign investors and partners to our carriers.
 To generate employment for Nigerians.
 To reduce capital flight.


Thank you for Listening

The Role of Security in Foreign Investment & the Economy as a Whole

Presented By Mr. Olumide Ohunayo
At the Zonal Security Seminar with the Theme-
“Security Awareness Creation – The Way Forward”
15th – 17th December, 2010 @ the Confluence Beach Hotel,
Lokoja – Kogi State
Obligation of a State
 The primary obligation of a state has always been and will continue to be the provision of security. The quest for security has always been an issue of concern in human existence. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is no exception as our constitution as stated this loudly; Section 14 Subsection 2 (b) of the 1999, constitution, states that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose and responsibility of the government.”
To Attract Foreign Investments
 The State need to have sound economic and fiscal policies in place, coupled with infrastructural development, in a safe and secured environment.
 The state must protect people from physical or psychological violence, whether from individuals, state or external state.
 The state must protect people from short & long term ravages of nature, man made threats in nature and the deterioration of the natural environment.
 The state must have a national security programme which basically maintains the cohesion of a nation –state through the use of economic, military and political power mingled with diplomacy.
Measures Taken by Nation-States to Ensure National Security:
 Using intelligence services to detect, defeat or avoid threats and espionage
 Protect classified information
 Protect the nation from internal threats
 Maintaining an effective armed forces
 Implementing civil defence and emergency preparedness
 Using diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats
 Marshaling economic power to facilitate or compel cooperation
 Legislating in tandem with international community (Anti –terror bill)
National Security (Nigeria’s Position or Wish?)
 Our national defence policy; sees national security as an all encompassing condition in which citizens can live in freedom, peace and safety, participate fully in the protection of fundamental rights, have access to resources, necessities of life and inhabit an environment that is conducive to their health and well being.

 A grand strategy – is the aggregate of the security interests of all individuals, communities, ethnic groups, political entities and the prosperity of individuals and institutions within Nigeria and what belongs to Nigeria and Nigerians abroad.
Structures Put in Place by Government to Enhance Security
 Nigeria Police
 The Armed forces
 Nigeria Intelligence Agency
 State Security Services
 Nigeria Immigration Service
 Nigeria Custom Service
 Nigeria Prison Services
 Nigeria Civil Defence Corps
 Federal Road Safety Corps
 National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
 Economic & Financial Crime Commission
 Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission
 The Judiciary
 The Legislature
 Vibrant & Proactive Foreign Policy
 The Media
 The Executive
 (Other agencies NAFDAC, NCAA and NCC)
How to Overcome the Challenges
 Government should consider joint security programme with all tiers of government
 Promote a culture of religious and ethnic tolerance
 Improve cooperation and coordination between the different agencies and their foreign counterpart
 Effective poverty eradication programme
 Unrelenting war against corruption at all levels
 Promotion of bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation through diplomacy
 Adequate and alternate funding of the relevant agencies
 Proactive and preventive intelligence gathering
 Good governance supported by transparent elections and succession
 Provision of energy, power supply with efficient road network backed by alternate modes.
Conclusion

 Foreign investment is the tonic needed to drive a country’s economy, in driving that economy you are inadvertently eliminating poverty, unemployment and corruption. These axis of evil, breeds insecurity, unrest and generally makes a country unsafe. Therefore we must ensure we keep our country safe and security conscious always.

 Thank You for Your Attention

CONVEYOR BELT PROBLEM

The conveyor belt is an essential equipment in the facilitation
process; also it improves safety and security of the passenger baggage
and the airport itself.

Sadly, down here it is trapped in the airport remodeling debacle that
has been heard many times but not seen rather, we politically added to
the burden by increasing the number of international gateways without
a clear cut programme of maintaining and improving the existing ones.

The two handling companies should work out an urgent PPP arrangement
with FAAN to improve this critical facilitation equipment rather than
wait endlessly for the un-ending remodeling toga.