Aviation stakeholders brainstorm on survival strategies for post COVID-19

Aviation stakeholders on Thursday brainstormed on how to survive during post Covid-19 era at a Webinar session tagged, ‘Nigeria’s Aviation Industry: Changing Times, Changing Strategies’, organized by the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC)

The experts say collaboration, new strategies, new technologies and automation are the key to surmounting the challenges that have been posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allen Onyema, Chairman of Air Peace, stressed the need to continue to create awareness to the public that it is safe to fly.

He said the campaign that middle seats be removed from aircraft is not supported by his airline, adding that Nigerians will not be able to bear the cost if airlines should transfer the cost to them.

 He also disclosed that airlines are disinfecting their aircraft and putting in place different measures for the safety of passengers.

On palliative for the sector, Onyema stressed that what the airlines need is money to pay staff salaries since the livelihood of many workers in the sector are threatened by sack.

Gabriel Olowo, the President of Aviation Round Table Safety Initiative (ARTSI), all airlines should by now have infrastructure that will allow its passengers to check in online and avoid crowds and queues at the airport.

He said self-service check in has been activated at most airports globally, Nigeria cannot be left out.

Also speaking, Harold Demuren, former director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said there is a need to change the challenges to opportunities adding, ‘technology and automation are the way forward, we cannot run away from it.

“There is a need for airlines to codeshare and do local Billing Settlement Plan, there should be single digit interest rate and availability of FOREX, the Agencies like FAAN needs money to put in place new infrastructure”, he said.

Akin Olateru, Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), expressed hope that the sector will rebound, but noted that only those who can think out of the box will survive the challenges.

Also speaking during the conference, Hamisu Yadudu, managing director of FAAN, noted that this is the only period aviation is grounded globally in this COVID-19 era but the responses and guidelines of Agencies to rebound and reposition the sector can only work when there is cooperation among all.

According to him, ‘we all need the cooperation of each other, the success of our responses is not the responsibility of only one agency, it will be good for all stakeholders to cooperate, if we fail to cooperate, the essence of the responses and guidelines will be jeopardized. Our protocols are out and our doors are open to suggestions”, he said.