Despite Remodeling, Nigeria’s Airports Yet To Meet Global Standards

That none of Nigerian airports is certified in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), is like rehashing an old tune. Aviation Editor, WOLE SHADARE, laments that despite the billions of naira spent on remodeling, Nigeria’s airports are yet to meet the requirements for certification.

The rot in the nation’s aviation sector may have found deep expression in the assessed parlous infrastructural facilities bedeviling the gateways over the years, with little succour coming from the much-publicized remodeling scheme.
Experts in airports aesthetics and operations have not been too generous with words to describe the whole exercise of airports remodelling as a sham and one that costs far more than would have been used to build new ones. Surprisingly, all the 22 airports in the country have remained uncertified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on account of the poor infrastructure at the aerodromes.
Indeed, the airports, according to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), lack adequate fire cover, efficient airspace communication infrastructure, water hydrant, fire fighting vehicles, airfield lighting, while poor security of the airport, coupled with lack of perimeter fencing, among others, are factors militating against standard airport system stipulated by the global aviation regulatory body.
ICAO’s requirements
As part of requirements for ICAO certification, an airport must have operational and perimeter fencing, certified aviation security personnel, state-of-the-art navigational equipment, while the personnel must be regularly trained and retrained.
Other conditions include standard runway and runway strength known as the Pavement Classification Number (PCN), which enable airports and airlines to know if a given aircraft may put undue stress on a runway, non-interference from government; adequate fire tenders; standard instrument landing systems; fuelling; baggage handling, apron and quick response to distress, among others. As at today, most of the airports, including the four international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, have not been able to meet the conditions. No airport in Nigeria, not even the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, has met the requirements for certification.
The aviation regulatory body had been forced most times to downgrade some airports from category three to seven and above, meaning that instead of the airport operating a super-jumbo jet, it can be allowed to operate light air planes like Hawker Sidlley, Beechcraft or at most, a B737 aircraft. The NCAA Director General, Benedict Adeyileka, last week, said that it is regrettable that none of the nation’s airports is certified because they do not meet global aviation standards.
He further disclosed that the inability to get any of the major international airports certified by ICAO is one of the challenges of sustaining aviation safety in Nigeria. Adeyileka spoke at the Aviation Safety Seminar with the theme: “Sustaining safety in the Nigerian aviation sector,” held in Lagos.
Nigeria’s high tariff
To him, foreign airlines pay high insurance premium because of the risk associated in operating to not only Nigeria but other African countries, but reiterated that they are not worried because they had already embedded the costs in the air fares charged Nigeria.
He stated that insuring aircraft that are based on operating in Africa costs on average four times more than it would cost to insure the same aircraft in other continents. “Once an airline says it wants to operate to Nigeria, the insurance increases and the airlines in turn increase their fares. The airlines are ready to take the high risk because of the high traffic in Nigeria.
“That is why whenever there is a problem, they are not worried because of the high cost they charge Nigerian passengers and it has been embedded in the tickets. The ramp, runway and avio-bridges call for concern,” he added.
The premium charged on aviation insurance by indigenous insurers, he said, is relatively high compared to premium charged by other countries while re-insurance charges by the foreign reinsurers on Nigerian aviation industry insurance is extremely high compared to those charged in other nations.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had in 2006 signed an undertaking with the NCAA to certify the international airports in Nigeria. Based on this agreement, Nigeria was able to scale through the ICAO Universal Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).
Recently, FAAN set up a certification team, which had taken up the inspection of some international airports to appraise the requirements for certification. He, however, explained that FAAN’s management was aware of the stance of the agency, but said it is working with sister agency to address the challenges in the sub-sector, adding that no Nigerian airport would be certified until, “we are satisfied with the standards.”
Also, speaking at the forum, Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma, who was represented by a General Manager in the agency, G.U. Anukwa, lamented that the Nigerian aviation industry is at the receiving end, due to none certification of airports.
High insurance premium
Dunoma disclosed that when an airline operator is flying into an airport that has no safety assurance, it’s insurance company increases its premium because it is assumed that the airline is taking a high risk if it must fly in there, adding that what the airline does is to increase the airfare to cushion the effect as a result of the high premium. “Incessant incidents/accidents due to none implementation of a safety management system can demoralize the employees.
When no one is sure of his/her safety the next minute the productivity level of the employees would surely drop automatically. “ When a major accident occurs, there is every tendency that the organization would set up an internal investigation committee to unravel the cause, irrespective of the cost of damage, the organization would still make a financial budget to cover the investigation committee requirement, allowances and purchases,” he noted.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Hope Uzodinma, had recently said it is ‘’very sad that most of our airports are not certified in accordance with ICAO standards. We must therefore do everything possible to get them certified.’’ The chairman said other areas which deserve serious attention and upon which government must find a way to fund in the budget is capacity building and training of professionals/ experts by the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), airfield lighting as well the maintenance of the runways.

Wole is of the New Telegraph