The Nigerian aviation industry is on the verge of witnessing a boom in local aircraft maintenance that could save the country and the entire West African region over $1 billion annually, which is spent ferrying aircraft offshore on different types of maintenance checks.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has granted a certificate to 7Star Global Hangar Ltd, an Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) to operate an all-inclusive Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility.
Isaac Balami, chief executive officer of 7Star Global Hangar, while speaking with journalists in Lagos spoke extensively on the benefits of the hangar to airline operators within and outside the country.
Balami, an aircraft engineer and former National President for Aircraft pilots and Engineers in Nigeria said, “7StarGlobal is the first independent privately owned MRO in West and Central Africa. I say independent because it is a stand-alone and we were registered in 2012 and since then for about nine years, we have been back-to-back pursuing our license and Variation with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
“We are happy today to announce that after over 15 months of the NCAA reviewing our variation and our operational specifications (OpsSpecs) and also expanding our capability list in Wheels and Brakes, NDT etc, we have finally finished our phase five which is the last stage in the certification process and we have been granted final approval.
“The huge capital in aircraft maintenance we often experience, amounting to over $1billion that is annually spent in West Africa alone is going to help to create jobs here in Nigeria”.
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On the maintenance specification, Balami said the organization can carry out operations as permitted by the NCAA, adding that he is happy to say goodbye to four-year inspection/maintenance on Augusta 139 helicopters which most VIPs, even the president, operates.
“Most oil and gas companies (Mobil, Shell, and Chevron) operate it. We also have EC 155 up to 6000 hours/12 years’ inspection. On the Learjet 45, we have about 9,600 hours’ inspection.
“On the small Cessna aircraft, we have about 100 hours/annual inspection. On the Bombardier DHC-8 100/200/300 (C Checks/8000FH), DHC-8 400 (C checks/8000FH), Challenger 601/604/605 (2400 hours inspections), Hawker Siddeley HS 125-850/900 (A-G Inspections), Bell 429 (5000 hours/5 years inspections), Embraer 135/145 (Up 5000hours/48months inspections), Embraer 600/650 (20000 hours/96 Months Inspections) and Boeing 737-300/400/500 (Up to 8A inspections), we have the highest inspection in most of the Aircraft as stipulated in the manufacturer’s manual,” he said.
Balami explained that this would mean a lot of job creation for the aviation industry and aside from about 10 expatriates that the company currently has, it has to transfer technology and train engineers in a few areas it is not yet strong.
“We already have about 68 local engineers that have the manufacturers’ type-course on those aircraft. They are experienced, they are current and most of them with at least 20-30 years of experience working on these aircrafts and working across the globe (US, UK, Canada, and the Middle East). So we have one of the best teams on the ground. I can tell you that your aircraft is safe with a 7 Star Global Hangar”.
Balami further stated that 7Star Hangar currently occupies about 45,000 square meters of land in Lagos airport, a facility leased from the Nigerian Air Force Investment, partly from AMCON, and Arik airline, out of which 25,000 square meters the firm is currently operating on now.
He equally disclosed that his firm had just secured an additional over 20,000 square meters from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in Lagos thereby making 7Star one of the biggest operators in terms of access to land in Lagos Airport.
He stressed that 7Star will be focusing on aircraft Maintenance Repair and overhaul (MRO), describing it as quite exciting because operations are starting with aircrafts that are more often taken overseas for inspection.
