Helicopter Operators Threaten to Ground Operations over Landing Fees Introduced by FG

Chinedu Eze

Nigeria may lose over 1.1 million barrels of oil per day (mbd) if helicopter operators carry out their threat by grounding operational activities in response to the newly imposed charges on their operations by the federal government through the Ministry of Aviation.

A recent memo by the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, directed helicopter operators to compulsorily pay helicopter landing fees at all Nigerian aerodromes, helipads, airstrips, floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units, floating storage and offloading (FSO) units and other oil platforms.

According to the memo signed by the Minister, Festus Keyamo, the landing fees would exclusively be collected by a private company, NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited.

“It is imperative that all operators and stakeholders fully comply with this mandate, by granting total access to Messrs NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited for the collection of the levy, effective immediately, Non-compliance with this directive will constitute a breach of this mandate and will be met with appropriate sanction,” the memo stated.

Keyamo in a recent TV interview explained that he inherited the process and approved it because it would generate more revenue for the federal government.

He further stated: “The company will put the infrastructure in place, employ personnel and remit to the Federal Government. So, everything will be going to the Federation Account and the company will get their cut.”

But helicopter operators have vowed to resist the payment and threatened to ground their operations if the federal government insists on the payment of the landing fees.

Stakeholders say 95 per cent of helicopter operations in Nigeria is connected to oil and gas services, warning that if the operators ground their operations, Nigerian crude output may drop to 300 bpd. 

It was learnt learnt that Nigeria’s daily crude oil production output currently hovering around 1.3 million bpd may drop to an abysmal 300 bpd, if the threat by Aviation Ministry to impose additional charges on helicopter landing cost in Nigeria is sustained, as helicopter operators have vowed never to accept additional charges from the Ministry. 

An insider told THISDAY that 90 per cent of Nigeria oil and gas production activities are conducted deep offshore where helicopter is the only viable means of daily transportation to and from the facilities. Also, in the recently published Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) approved heliport certification list, oil production helidecks constitute over ninety percent of the 105 listed on the document dated April 2024. 

“If the Ministry and the operators lock horns, as it appears apparently, owing to the Ministry’s resolve to see through the new charges to be collected by a consultant, NAEBI Concept, oil and gas production in those deep offshore waters will be threatened without helicopter flight operations. It is believed that 95 percentage of daily civil helicopter operations in Nigeria relates to oil and gas activities in deep waters. Therefore, the impact is headed more to oil and gas activities than to VIP or other minor helicopter flight users in the country,” the official of one of the helicopter companies engaged in oil and gas services, told THISDAY.

The Managing Director and CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, whose company pioneered helicopter shuttle for oil and gas services in Nigeria, told THISDAY that helicopter operators may likely shut down their operations or go to court.

He said there is no basis for the landing charge because the operators pay for services rendered to them, “and the helipads where helicopters land and take off in offshore operations and elsewhere are owned by international oil companies and therefore, not property of the federal government, adding that the operators pay their due charges to aviation agencies.”

“I don’t think it is a good thing to do because the International Civil Aviation Organisaton (ICAO) recommended that service providers in the aviation industry, which are government agencies, should engage in cost recovery, but unfortunately government has turned the agencies to profit making organisations in the aviation industry,” he said.

Sanusi posited that in terms of security and knowing all the helipads in Nigeria, such is a duty of National Security Adviser (NSA), the Air Force and related security agencies, insisting it has nothing to do with civil aviation.

The operators said there is nothing bad in the minister trying to increase revenue for government but noted that, “there are some untruthful assumptions that we need to bring to his attention.”

“First the assumption that helicopters are not regulated is not correct. In fact, helicopter operations are fully regulated as any other aircraft operations in Nigeria. There are three basic parastatals that form the basis with which helicopters are operated in Nigeria with financial returns rigidly and religiously remitted to our nation’s coffers – NAMA, NCAA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

“Normally, to start your helicopter engine at any airport in Nigeria, you are required to have filed a flight plan with payment made to NAMA for that flight. As you fly from that airport to any other airport or facility, be it heli deck, heliport or open field, you are in continuous radio communication with NAMA air traffic controllers, to/fro your flights. At the end of every month, NAMA produces the list of all your radio contacts with the controllers and the routes flown; then a bill is generated and forwarded to you of which, you must remit that invoice to NAMA,” an operator who spoke to THISDAY disclosed.

They also stated that whenever a helicopter lands in any airport in Nigeria, FAAN staff or FAAN appointed agents, without fail, are always on ground to collect landing fees from the helicopter.

“There is a statutory fee attached to every application made to NCAA that every helicopter operator, just like every other aircraft operators in Nigeria, pays. These are like the renewal of crew licenses; renewal of all operations and maintenance certificates and amendments; inspection of aircraft both locally and overseas, as well as inspection of training centres for crew use; aircraft registration; issuance of airworthiness certificates and the renewals. I can go on and on, none is free, I repeat, not a single application is free, they all come with a fee. At times, you are required to pay the agency fees and still pay separately for the air tickets for the travelling NCAA officials nominated for the inspections. 

“Helicopter operators in Nigeria statutorily remit 5 per cent of passenger flights cost to NCAA on every commercial flight. To be abundantly clear, if an operator collects $10,000 or N12 million from a client over a flight, 5 per cent of that sum is remitted to NCAA in the currency with which it is collected. Operators are heavily burdened in our aviation environment and some industry experts believe that this is the main reason the industry is not growing, but has remained a cesspit for loss of investment,” the operators told THISDAY.

Also, a top official of a major helicopter company in Nigeria told THISDAY that the landing charge is unknown to the law adding that NCAA does not regulate the charge.

“They also insisted that the payment should be done in dollars but our currency is the naira. They call it landing charge but when I land on the rig I should pay them. Then the Minister’s directive that everybody should give access to the company so that they monitor you, raises another question: what is that payment for?

“I see this act as sabotage against federal government’s current drive to increase the volume of crude oil that is produced in the country. We are trying to ramp up operations and they are now bringing this. There are no spare parts and acquisition of equipment is very difficult now; yet, government wants to increase the oil output. And I still wonder why they are not paying to government account,” he said.