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Minister of Aviation, Mr.
Osita Chidoka
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The Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka, on Thursday
expressed concerns that in the 21st century, Nigerian pilots were still filing
their flight plans manually rather than through electronic means in use in most
developed and developing countries.
While describing this as
an embarrassment to the aviation industry in the country, he said the Aviation
ministry had started changing the system for better.
Flight plans are
documents filed by a pilot or flight dispatcher with the local civil aviation
authorities (e.g. Nigerian Airspace Management Agency) prior to departure. They
indicate the plane’s planned route or flight path.
The Punch report continues:
According to pilots and
airline operators, filing a flight plan manually takes hours instead of minutes
if it is done electronically.
The manual filing of
flight plans is said to be also jeopardizing airlines’ efficiency and security.
According to the
minister, there is also an urgent need to listen to pilots that fly in Nigerian
airspace in order to ensure that the country’s aviation navigational aids are
up to date.
He stated this in Lagos
when Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, operators of the Murtala Muhammed
Airport Terminal Two, inaugurated passenger self-service facilities at the
terminal.
Chidoka said the ministry
had introduced an on-time performance monitoring system to improve service
delivery among the local carriers.
He said, “The on-time
performance of domestic airlines dropped to an average of 17 per cent in the
month of April. April has been a worst month since January when we started the
on-time performance monitoring, using the aviation portal.
“FirstNation Airways
still maintained the first position but dropped from 37.9 per cent in March to
27 per cent in April. FirstNation had an all-time high of 66 per cent in February.
“We are monitoring this
performance in order to improve the on-time performance of domestic airlines.
During our findings, we found out that the poor performance in April was caused
by fuel scarcity; so, fuel scarcity impacted on on-time service delivery by the
airlines.”
The minister decried the
massive infrastructural and equipment decay in the aviation industry, adding
that inadequate technological facilities had retarded growth in the sector.
While commending the
newly introduced Common User Passenger Processing System by the operators of
the MMA2, Chidoka emphasized the need for domestic airlines and other aviation
agencies to improve on service quality.
He said, “The MMA2 has
offered a template about how government should go about handling of Nigerian
airports. There is an urgent need to listen to pilots who fly in our airspace.
We should make sure that our navigational aids are up to speed. Airports are
not terminal buildings, but do include terminal buildings.
“We have decided to
change the system and MMA2 has beaten us to it. We need to improve passengers’
experience. I want other terminal operators to emulate the continuous
improvements we are seeing in MMA2. What MMA2 has done today is good for the
system.
The Minister disclosed
that before the end of the month, the ministry would award some contracts for
the upgrade of facilities at the nation’s airports, urging the Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria to take a cue from the BASL project.
The Chairman, BASL, Dr.
Wale Babalakin, expressed joy that the MMA2 was marking its eighth year with
the introduction of the CUPPS and passenger self-service facilities, noting
that the development was a major development in the sector.
Babalakin emphasized the
importance of partnership between the private and public sectors in order to
move the nation forward, adding, “Intellectual leadership in government and
considerable private input will lead to the aviation sector’s growth and
development.
“Money should follow
strategy and not the other way round. The MMA2 is a clear example of how money
has followed strategy.”
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