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T H I S D AY ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2019
BUSINESSWORLD
NEWS
Lawmakers Seek Improvement in Aviation Sector Chinedu Eze The Chairman of House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji, has pledged to collaborate with the Senate, industry agencies to bequeath to Nigerians an industry that is safe, reliable and viable. Nnaji, made this known during his post inaugural address, saying the Committee would take immediate action to review the lopsided policies that encourage the exploitation of Nigerian travellers by foreign airlines. He said the Committee has the mandate to oversight the Federal Ministry of Aviation and its six agencies, which include, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NIMET), the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) He explained that the aforementioned agencies operate dual budgets that include the statutory federal budget, which is embedded in the Ministry’s Annual Budget Proposal and the Internally Generated Revenue
(IGR) budget, which are all supposed to be submitted to the committee annually for appropriation. Nnaji said beyond this, the Ministry was expected to forward to the Committee, an Aviation Development Master Plan (ADMP) yearly, which would form the policy framework for the development of Nigerian Aviation sector as a major hub for the continent of Africa, the creation of an enabling environment that would support local airlines to fly Nigeria’s flag globally; ensuring that the foreign airlines’ domination in the Nigerian aviation market was curtailed. He said the House would embark on the possibility of reviewing the multiple entry designations granted to some international airlines to protect the local industry and ensure the safe and quality service delivery by all agencies and organisations that operate in the industry. “We will equally work with the regulatory authorities; the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Federal Ministry of Aviation to ensure that proper financial audit of intending local airlines are done before issuance
of licences to stem early exits of indigenous operators which have become regular occurrences in the industry. “Our aviation industry has great potential, which have over the years been unduly exploited by foreign airlines. My understanding is that several foreign carriers operate multiple flights out of Nigeria daily (morning and night), charging very exorbitant fares without any indigenous operator reciprocating same. “These no doubt promotes capital flights, unemployment and negatively impact on the economic growth of the nation, which should not be tolerated. Findings have also shown that some Nigerian travellers now have to go through the neighbouring West African countries to connect flights to Europe and America because fares are cheaper over there,” Nnaji noted. He said the National Assembly would move for the review of Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) Nigeria signed with various countries to address the increasing dominance of the aviation industry by foreign airlines so that “our indigenous carriers can be protected from early collapse as has been observed.”
Delta Contributes to Eliminate Extreme Poverty by 2030 Delat Air Line has announced that it is making contribution to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 in collaboration in partnership with Global Citizen. The airline said the multimillion-dollar contribution would help power the movement to bridge the funding gap in the 59 poorest countries to reach the 2030 United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development. “Delta’s partnership with Global Citizen illustrates the airline’s commitment to connecting the world while making it better through environmental stewardship, diversity and inclusion, and community development,” the airline said. It noted that the Delta Air
Lines Foundation has made a generous multi-million-dollar commitment to international advocacy organization Global Citizen’s Global Goal Live, a year-long campaign to mobilise resources to end extreme poverty, address climate change and reduce inequality by 2030 as outlined by the 2015 United Nations Global Goals. “Our commitment to the Global Citizen movement is born out of our determination to make the world better and more connected,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to be part of this remarkable effort to end extreme poverty and improve the world around us.” Bastian will co-chair
Global Citizen’s private sector CEO Coalition, which also includes CEOs Chuck Robbins of Cisco, Hans Vestberg of Verizon, Alex Gorsky of Johnson and Johnson and Chief Marketing Officer Marc Prichard of P&G. In addition to The Delta Air Lines Foundation’s contribution, Delta announced its partnership on Wednesday at a press conference in New York City with representation from the worlds of entertainment, private sector, policy and philanthropy to mobilise the next generation of concerned global citizens and demand the attention of and secure commitments from world leaders, policymakers, NGOs and socially conscious corporations.
UPS Gets FAA Approval for Drone Airline US shipper United Parcel Service has received the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to operate a drone airline for commercial package delivery. According to airwise.com, UPS unit Flight Forward said it has received the first full Part 135 Standard from the Federal Aviation Administration, and will now expand its drone delivery service to support hospital campuses around the US.
“This is history in the making, and we aren’t done yet,” UPS chief executive David Abney said. “Our technology is opening doors for UPS and solving problems in unique ways for our customers. We will soon announce other steps to build out our infrastructure, expand services for healthcare customers and put drones to new uses in the future,” he said. The FAA certification
allows the company to fly an unlimited number of drones with an unlimited number of remote operators on flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Flight Forward made its first drone flight under the certification at the WakeMed hospital campus in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company said the flight was operated under a government exemption allowing for BVLOS operation.
Airline Reacts as Passengers Decry BA’s Services
Kwara Hajj
BA Aircraft
Chinedu Eze
Over the years Nigerian travellers have shown pride in travelling with UK mega carrier, British Airways. In fact, it is a sign of high social status to travel with the airline. Nigeria and British Airways seemed to be yoked together. While high placed Nigerian passengers prefer the airline; the British carrier also see Nigeria as its strategic partner and has been airlifting Nigerian travellers for about eight decades. But recently many Nigerian travellers have started complaining about the airline, which has a reputation for its high safety record. But in reaction, BA said the allegations were not true. According to some passengers, in comparison to other countries, the airline’s service to its Nigerian passengers is poor and the aircraft that operate its services to Nigerian destinations are old. Putting strength to this allegation, one of the frequent travellers on the airline, Clem Nwanna, who said he hitherto enjoyed the services of the British carrier. He, however, alleged that there are poor services on BA when flying Nigerian routes, which are not obtained on other routes. This was part of Nwanna’s documented experience: “Summer things and Naija experience (Memoir while in flight BA to LOS en route London Heathrow). BA 74 Flight out of Nigeria on 04/08: Wifi worked on air till London; 05/08: continued flights to Houston (BA 195) and other flights interchange to American Airline, Wifi worked throughout to Houston. 09 - 12/08: internal flights (American Airlines) have wifi all through and better services and 14/08: international flights US to Canada (American Airlines 1804 and 2942) Wifi worked. Other experience included: “27/08: BA Canada to London - Wifi never worked. And I do not know why. 28/08: BA075 from LHR to LOS: plane is just too old -fashioned, no USB port etc. compared to slightly sophisticated fleet (BA 092) used for the Canada to London route. Just one hour into the trip: Nigeria Customs Form is being distributed. “We did not see them in other countries upon entry. Lunch in BA 075: no salad no vegetables but the kind of joll-of rice and stewed chicken, with other side ‘mede-mede’...not bad. The entertainment (TV system) took more than one hour to reset...I have not experienced this in any international flight. “Definitely there will be an apology or earlier notification. I think it was just a norm for them on this route!! The BA075 is an old fashioned plane. Even the in-flight map is not
too different from Virgin Atlantic we flew to Botswana in 2006. The map just shows overview of destination in view and some nearby countries / cities. “The features could not show 3D. But the in-flight map in the BA092 (I flew Canada to London) had digitalized on-site 3D map, rotating and showing all angles, nautical miles, nearby cities (and relative distances, as the plane trudges on),” Nwanna alleged. However, British Airways Commercial Manager for West Africa, Kola Olayinka, disagreed with some of the traveller ’s observations, stating that BA prides itself in serving its customers and would stop at nothing in achieving this at all time. Olayinka said BA offers WIFI on selected flights only as its aircrafts are being enabled for WIFI progressively. He stated that for the traveller to say BA did not have WIFI, it may well be that the particular aircraft in question did not have WIFI installed. “I have personally been on a couple of flights out of Lagos with WIFI!” he added. Countering the old impression by Nigerian travellers that BA and other international carriers use particular aircraft on the Nigerian route, Olayinka said, “We do not fly specific aircraft to Lagos. The same aircraft that comes to Lagos goes on to fly to New York or to Houston as the case may be. We currently fly a remodelled super High J 747 with configuration of 14F, 86J, 30W, 145M. “(Lagos) This is a fairly newly modelled aircraft with modern and most updated inflight entertainment with over 40 Channels and over 100 movies to watch.” On allegation of food, Olayinka said the airline offers variety of meal selections on board including some very popular Nigerian cuisine like Jollof rice, plantain amongst others. He, however, admitted that individual choices might sometimes be limited or unavailable as it is difficult to satisfy about 300 passengers on board with specific and detailed requests. “Custom forms are provided to airlines by the Nigerian authorities and it is to regulate inflow of FOREX from abroad, anyone flying in to Nigeria with over 10,000 dollars is required to fill these forms, there is no way the gentleman could have seen these forms on Houston flights as it is only a Nigerian government requirement for arrivals into Nigeria,” he stated, while responding to the traveller ’s complaint on custom forms. British Airways is a high-end legacy carrier that operates to Lagos and Abuja from its hub at Heathrow Airport, London.