Nigeria’s struggling domestic airlines can make additional earnings of N13.6 billion annually if Nigeria’s airports outside the major cities had functional navigational aids.
Experts in the aviation sector say that moderate economic activities around Akure, Asaba, Calabar, Ilorin, Jalingo, Kano, Makurdi, Minna, Owerri and Uyo, airlines could be losing as much as N37.5 million daily and N13.6 billion annually because there are no landing aids around these airports to enable them operate night flights to these locations.
BusinessDay’s checks show that four years ago, the federal government designated these states as choice location for its airline expansion drive which enables private domestic carriers use smaller short hop aircraft from one state in the country to another, many of them turboprop (propeller driven), which are fuel efficient and enhance margins.
A turboprop jet has an average of 75 seats and therefore can carry an average of 150 passengers on a return flight. Experts say that if the navigational aids are in good shape or present at these airports, an average of number of one jet can fly in and out of these states on a daily basis.
With passengers paying an average of N25,000 for tickets to these locations, a return flight in these ten states will earn airlines N37.5 million daily and N13.6 billion annually based on the number of airlines in the country currently.
Nogie Meggison, chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), explained that in some airports night flights are not operated because there are no runway lights while visual flight had to be either delayed or cancelled because navigational aids are not working.
He explained that in 1968, exactly forty eight years ago, the first aircraft operated at CAT lll and landed in zero (0) visibility at Heathrow airport, yet Nigeria is unable to land aircraft with visibility of about 800m.
“Why are the navigation aids not working or upgraded over the years? Why is there no solution to this issue after forty years of the airlines crying out? “It is rather shameful that today in the 21st Century, we are still talking of operating at CAT l and unable to land at 800m at our airports,” Meggison noted.
“The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA) and The Federal Airports Authority Nigeria, (FAAN) need to be more responsible to ensure that our airports are equipped with the right landing aids to allow 24hours operations in any weather condition,” he stressed.
John Ojikutu, secretary general, Aviation Round Table, said that in other aviation climes, aircraft and people fly at zero visibility, wondering why Nigeria’s case is different.
Ojikutu explained that an airline that has not flown for three days has incurred so much loss because operators pay the pilots, refund money to the passengers and pay suppliers, causing a huge loss of manpower.
According to aviation experts, if all necessary equipment were provided at the airports, aircraft can land at zero visibility and many modern aircraft have global positioning system (GPS), which enables them to land at the lowest visibility.
But the failure to provide such safety critical equipment has made it difficult for the airlines to utilise the GPS in the aircraft.
Ojikutu explained that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) on the other hand, is not efficient and effective in enforcing the economic regulations on the operators and therefore the safety standards suffer.
Emmanuel Anasi, acting managing director of NAMA said that it would have been easy to get some other facilities to improve air navigation if not for the huge indebtedness of airlines to the agency to the tune of N6b and $27m dollars respectively.
Anasi disclosed that all the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) were working, while the agency has implemented the Performance Base Navigation, (PBN) approaches in 20 airports.
About two years ago, Yakubu Dati, former general manager, public affairs, Federal Airports Authority Nigeria, (FAAN), stated that FAAN had commenced the installation of airfield lighting equipment at 13 airports and that work was at advanced stages in many of them.
However, BusinessDay checks show that amongst the thirteen airports FAAN promised to install airfield lightening equipment, only airports in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt have functional landing aids.
Bala Ibn Na Allah, vice chairman of the Senate committee on aviation said that some landing aids like localizers and glide scope are not functioning to the required level forcing pilots to rely on procedural rules.
He said the cost of procurement of navigation equipment in Nigeria was five times the cost in other countries across Africa, warning that the senate will ensure that funds budgeted for these equipment must be accounted for.
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