Stakeholders Set to Address Aviation Sector Challenges

Chinedu Eze

Stakeholders in the aviation industry are set to address the challenges in the sector at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conferences (FNAC), which is billed to hold May 15-18, 2023 at the International Conference Center Abuja with the theme: Sustainability of the Nigeria Aviation Industry.

Some of the challenges to be addressed at the conference include: high foreign exchange, high insurance premium, increasing inflation, high cost of aviation fuel and high cost of aircraft maintenance, among others challenges.

Stakeholders are of the view that the aviation industry needs urgent turnaround to meet the set goals and objectives of the federal government, the international aviation community and the travelling public, hence the need for the conference.

According to stakeholders, government will want to optimize the benefits of air travel as a diplomatic tool to grow the country’s GDP and also create jobs, as industry operatives believe that the industry could provide additional 500, 000 jobs if the airline sub-sector is maximized and aerotropolis fully implemented.

FAAN said the conference would seek collaboration with state governments and potential investors to explore the huge investment in the states through the airports. It is believed that this would open up new air routes with corresponding increase in passenger and cargo traffic.

With no fewer than 6,974 participants that will attend the conference physically and virtually, the maiden Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conferences (FNAC) in 2022 provided avenues for frank discussions regarding the direction of aviation in Nigeria and is set to continue in the same trajectory in 2023.

Last year’s conference opened up many challenges that have been partly tackled and some are still in the radar of finding solutions to them. This has also led to some critical decisions and actions that have been taken in the sector.

The conference gave opportunities for domestic players in the industry, airlines, regulators, airport operators, and other service providers to vent and get to the causal factors of some of the challenges faced and solutions were proffered.

It was equally a catalyst for hastening some critical projects that have been completed, with others on-going, which include the installation of Airfield Lighting at the 2.7 km, Runway 18L/36R at the Murtala Muhammed Airport  abandoned for 14 years and the completion of the Taxiway Bravo.

The former (Runway 18L) had become an albatross to both airlines and government and was among  major challenges domestic airlines had brought up, as it affected their ability to use their equipment to its full potential, limiting their operations by several hours daily during the long taxiing of aircraft from the international runway to the domestic terminals. The challenge has become a thing of the past with the completion of the state-of-the-art runway lights at the domestic terminal. Currently, comprehensive rehabilitation of the international runway, known as Runway 18R is on-going and at the cusp of completion.

Within same time frame, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, accented Aviation parastatal Bills into Law and one of the key points was turning the one time Accident Investigation Bureau ( AIB) into a multimodal transportation investigation agency, the National Safety Investigation Bureau ( NSIB).

The FNAC event in 2022 was able to identify the multiple regulations between FAAN and Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) as one of the major factors slowing down the growth of free trade zones in the country and suspended the issuance of licences to applicants on the FTZs at the nation’s airports until conflicts in the regulatory framework  are resolved.

However, some salient issues discussed are still begging for solutions with the staggering cost of Jet Fuel unaddressed, the lack of foreign exchange to be consistent in the business since aviation is a dollar denominated, capital intensive business and a host of others.

Like the maiden conference, FNAC is expected to bring together captains of industries, top government functionaries, seasoned aviation experts and key stakeholders like the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, state governors and chief executives of all Aviation industry, diplomatic missions and embassies as well as development partners and International Organisations.

Although there will be presentations, the FNAC is focused on solutions to existing issues and importantly an investment forum, which will focus on attracting local and international investors in order to keep them abreast of opportunities in the industry.

There will be speakers that will provide context to the three-day event with topics like: Sustainability of The Aviation Industry in Nigeria: The Regulators’ Perspective, Sustainability of The Aviation Industry in Nigeria: The Economics’ Perspective as well as Sustainability of The Aviation Industry in Nigeria: The Airport Operators’ Perspective.

The meeting will also deliberate on repositioning cargo operations through Development of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Nigeria and a Lithuana Group Presentation on Mitigating the Impact of Brain-drain in the Aviation Industry in Nigeria as well as Aviation Facilities/Equipment Leasing and financing with The Aviation Industry as a Stimulant for Economic Development.

As it was last year, this year is expected to feature an investment forum to attract Foreign Direct investment (FDI) for the country, especially with avenues for investments like cargo and passenger airports springing up in various states and providing mouth-watering opportunities.

States and even FAAN will have the space to market their assets towards achieving commercially viable airports (especially the secondary airports), tap from innovative and smart ideas to better run facilities as well as create diversification for revenue generation at Nigeria airports beyond aeronautical funding.

It is also expected that investors, business organisation will use the conference as opportunity for interface to harness opportunities in the aviation industry, which include advertisement, tourism and land development.

This year, the conference promises to be bigger and better, according to the organizers, as it will cover investments and national economic development,  address the future of Nigerian airports with respect to safety, security, innovations, financing, leasing, sustainability and growth.