I’ll Establish New, ‘Proper’ National Carrier — Keyamo

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has vowed to establish a new and ‘proper’ national carrier as part of efforts to drive Nigeria’s aviation sector and boost economic development.

The former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Hadi Sirika, had, during his time, announced plans for the revival of the country’s national carrier, Nigeria Air.

The announcement sparked both excitement and controversy among Nigerians, as the project became subject to intense scrutiny and debates.

However, the controversial nature of Nigeria Air became evident when critics raised concerns about the project’s feasibility and the government’s involvement.

On assuming office, Keyamo, however, ordered for the suspension of the Nigeria Air project.

Keyamo gave this directive during a tour of the international airports in Lagos, where he was accompanied by the Managing Director (MD) of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Kabir Yusuf Mohammed.

Keyamo also put on hold all arrangements under his predecessor, Hadi Sirika, to enable proper audit of contracts in the aviation industry.

But, speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Keyamo revealed plans to establish a new national carrier, adding that no local airlines will be made to be national carriers.

Keyamo said: “I will push for one (national carrier) and I’m working on one and guess what? Let me say this publicly now. No local airline will be a flag carrier or national carrier.

“So, whoever thinks I’m working to promote one to be a national flag carrier, I’m saying it as a matter of policy, it will be unfair to all the local operators, no local airline will be designated as a flag carrier. I will not do it.

“We will establish a proper national carrier and people are talking to us about it. The Arabs are talking to us, the Chinese are talking to us, the Americans are talking to us on these already.”

EFCC investigating Sirika, others over Nigeria Air

On issues bordering the Nigeria Air, Keyamo hinted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begun an investigation to unravel the mysteries surrounding the Nigeria Air.

“EFCC investigation is ongoing so people who don’t know, should know. There is a criminal investigation going on. That is the honest truth. I don’t know those who are involved or who are not involved. I’ve called for reports as a minister so they should give me a printed report”, he said.

Nigeria’s top five airports have no masterplan

Keyamo also revealed that part of the reasons stifling the aviation sector is the country’s inability to create a masterplan for its top five international airports.

The five airports in question are: Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Port Harcourt International Airport, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, and Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.

He noted that many of the persisting problems in the aviation sector were as a result of poor infrastructures, safety equipment, and shady agreements, adding that without a comprehensive master plan, these airports will be unable to operate efficiently and effectively, hindering the growth and development of the aviation sector.

According to him, “The moment I came into office, the first thing I asked all of them, the technocrats and bureaucrats. I asked where the master plans for our airports are, especially the five international airports.

“How can you build infrastructure in the world without a plan? Whether house, whether road or anything, you must have an approved plan. I did not meet any master plan on the ground in the entire Nigeria for all the five international airports and I asked them what they’ve been doing?

“The lack of a master plan for our top airports is a major setback for our aviation industry. It prevents us from maximizing the potential of these airports and offering world-class services to travelers,” the Minister said.

N40bn earmarked for equipment upgrade, others

Speaking further, Keyamo, while bemoaning the sorry state of the country’s airports, disclosed that the sum of N40bn is underway to rehabilitate airports across the country.

His words: “We have decided to take some pre-emptive steps to say look, we need to upgrade our equipment because the first Ibadan incident was that the aircraft landed before the runway. Could it be navigational problems? Don’t forget that the last time we upgraded our equipment was when those series of accidents happened I think under Obasanjo and there was a whole lots of stakeholders meeting and so there was a lot of procurements at that time in the aviation sector in terms of navigation equipment and all of that.

“But, after that technology has improved a lot across the across the world, and I have just gone to a few places across the world in Europe especially, and we think there is a need to upgrade our equipment to meet modern standards and some have been done, some are being done.

“We are specifically looking at upgrading the total radar coverage of Nigeria and so we are embarking on that. We are also procuring equipment: landing equipment, navigation equipment, upgrading the ones that we had before. There is this ILS that we’re trying to procure, the modern ones for the five international airports and some other airports.

“Now, these equipment they guide aircrafts, even in very difficult circumstance, even in his hazy weather they are the ones who guide the approach and landing of aircrafts, even if the pilot is blind but these are very technical exams that can help you land.

“I wrote to Mr. President to say Look, Mr. President, beyond the envelope system of the budget, please can we have urgent intervention regarding this very critical equipment. I called all the stakeholders together: NAMA, NCAA and NSIB.

“We all looked at it; we put it to the President and he immediately directed that the Minister of Finance should look into it and see how we can quickly raise funds for this and they are in the process of doing that right now. We’re processing it. We propose about N40 billion for all the airports.”

Airline operators must comply with customers rebate policy

On issues bordering protecting consumers’ rights and ensure fair treatment by airline operators, Keyamo issued a stern warning, stating that all airlines must comply with the customers rebate policy.

He said that the customers rebate policy is an essential part of the Government’s efforts to ensure that passengers are not taken advantage of by airline operators.

According to the policy, if an airline cancels or delays a flight, customers are entitled to receive a rebate or alternative compensation.

The aviation minister highlighted that these regulations were put in place to safeguard the rights of consumers and ensure transparency in the aviation industry.

He stated: “The customers must have succour and that is the conclusion we gave. What kind of succour can we give to them? Because all over the world there are flight cancellations, delays and all of that. But then, you know that in other climes they keep to the rules, because there are clear rules set up by ICAO as to how you treat customers, how you refund money, how you give them comfort, when you delay their flights.

“We have to enforce those rules to the hilt. Now today, we have engaged a couple of insurance companies and they’ve come to us and they want to find a way out of this. Now, the insurance companies have undertaken to insure these passages and their flight tickets as well.

“So, that they will be present at every airports in the country. The moment there is a delay or they say cancellation, for customers who are willing to quickly catch the next flight, the insurance company will pay for the tickets on the spot and they know all the complexities of how they will recover their monies from the airline, they are prepared and that is why they are risk takers.

“But, that is one angle to it. The other one is that which we started working on last year with the airlines: can you give customers whom you have disappointed some kind of rebates? Because the difficulty really is getting the cash back from the airlines at the airport.

“The other one is that airlines, we are working out details with them. The next time that customer wants to buy a ticket from you, you must give them some kind of rebate 25 per cent or 50 per cent rebate.”

February 01, 2024