Aircraft towing persists at Lagos airport over infrastructure decay

Airlines operating in Nigeria have continued to spend millions of naira annually just to tow their aircraft into the various aerobridges, a point to disembark passengers after landing, as a result of the failure of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to address infrastructure deficit at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

BusinessDay’s checks show that in other climes, airlines taxi their aircraft into the aerobridge. In Nigeria, however, airlines pay to taxi their aircraft to the bridges because the aerobridges are old and not automated to align with newer or larger aircraft.

While this process has continued to constitute unnecessary delays to passengers who are forced to remain in the aircraft for 15 to 20 minutes for the aircraft to be towed after landing, the airlines continue to pay ground handling companies as much as N985 million annually to tow their aircraft into the aerobridges.

Henrietta Yakubu, general manager, public affairs of FAAN, told BusinessDay that towing of aircraft is an extra precautionary safety measure adopted by FAAN. Experts in aviation, however, say these measures are totally unnecessary in the first place if the right infrastructure is provided.

Alexander Nwuba, managing director, Smile Air Ghana and former managing director, Associated Airlines and WestAir Benin, who explained the technicalities to BusinessDay, said airlines have to tow their aircraft into the bridges because the bridges are very old and not suitable to align properly with newer aircraft and the lights that serve as visual aids to pilots may not be functional.

“The aerobridges at the Lagos airport are very old. For instance, it is not the same bridge you use for a Boeing 777 that is used for a Boeing 737,” Nwuba explained.
He said that in other countries, when an aircraft lands, the pilot is told what bridge to go into depending on the aircraft type.

“So, with the bridges we currently have, it is safer for the aircraft to be towed into them, while some developed airports use automated bridges,” he said.

“In addition to this, there are some equipment markers in form of lights that give visual aids to the pilot when he lands and taxies into the bridge. The light changes colours as the aircraft taxies into the bridge to indicate its final stop. We need to ask FAAN if those lights are working,” he further said.

BusinessDay’s checks show that all 30 international airlines operating in Nigeria pay nothing less than N985,500,000 annually into the coffers of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (nahco aviance) to tow their aircraft.
According to figures from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on passenger movement, international airlines operate a daily average of 30 flights from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA). This implies that the airports will process nothing less than 10,950 flights annually.

Ground handling companies charge airlines $250 per towing. This implies that airlines pay up to $2.737 million every year to tow their aircraft into the finger. This amounts to N985.5 million using an exchange rate of N360 to a dollar.

Several private sector businesses told BusinessDay that they had personally volunteered to assist the concerned agencies fix the problem with the bridges (as part of their corporate social responsibility) but they had received a negative answer each time because of the amount the agencies realise from towing aircraft into the bridge on a daily basis.

Experts say this development totally discourages the ease of doing business the government promised to implement across Nigeria, including at the airports.

John Ojikutu, member of aviation industry think tank group, Aviation Round Table (ART), and chief executive of Centurion Securities, said the fingers (aircraft parking lot) in most of Nigerian airports were built in 1975, and no improvement has been done on them.

He said apart from the fingers in Abuja airport, the ones in other airports are out-dated and may not accommodate certain aircraft types. Thus, the airlines have no choice but to tow their aircraft into the fingers.

“Some airlines insist on using certain fingers. For instance, in 2007, Airbus 340 had long wing fan and Emirates was flying Boeing 777. The two of them chose fingers that were closer to each other to park. The pilot alone cannot safely park that aircraft side by side with the other one. So, they park outside and the towing vehicle will come and tow them into the finger,” Ojikutu said.

He noted that there were also risks in towing the aircraft as the vehicles of the handlers sometimes hit the aircraft.

“If you hit the engine of a 777, it costs about $20 million. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should ensure handlers operate with insurance to cover their operations,” he added.
But the story goes beyond the aerobridges as a visit by BusinessDay to the Lagos airport recently showed that the escalators are currently in a bad shape, thereby constituting hassles to the passengers, especially the aged.

Yakubu, however, promised that the new Lagos airport terminal billed to be completed by the end of 2019 would address some of the infrastructure gaps raised.

IFEOMA OKEKE