The Flipside of Nigerian Airports

The recent report, which showed how Nigerian airports recorded poor rating in passenger comfort among major airports in Africa, has prompted industry experts to identify major factors that make the airports inimical to travellers, writes Chinedu Eze

Last weekend the Minister of Aviation and Aeronautical Development, Festus Keyamo, carried out inspection tour of the E-Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and he was impressed by the new facilities installed at the terminal.

He commended the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for the electronics billboard directing travellers on how to report to FAAN management if they were harassed by security operatives at the airport. He was also impressed by the new, state-of-the-art conveniences built for arriving passengers at the terminal.

“There is a great improvement here. The management and staff of FAAN have worked very hard at making this place look very welcoming and a big lift from where it was before. This is not where we are going. This is not our big plan for the airport. But this is a low-hanging fruit we can lash on for now. We want to make the place as conducive as possible for passengers who are coming into Nigeria. And that is why you can see that the management has actually initiated very simple ideas and executed very simple ideas to make the place very cozy.

“There is need for more lighting, new toilets, new signs. For instance, I want to show Nigerians this in particular. Now, we have been very concerned, Nigerians have been very concerned about the issue of harassment at the airport, touting at the airport, extortion by even uniformed personnel. This is our first step in addressing this issue, which is what you have seen here. So, for Nigerians, please look at this. When you come into the E-Wing of the international airport in Lagos, you are going to see a sign discouraging, touting, extortion and general harassment of passengers coming into Nigeria,” the Minister said.

Although impressed and encouraged by what FAAN did, the Minister promised that the current administration of  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would do more to revamp the international airports, adding that he has received a nod from the President to evolve transparent process to concession the major airports.

But it is the view of industry experts that before the lofty plan would come to fruition, there are critical issues the management of FAAN would attend to in order to make the airports, especially international airports, conducive for travellers.

It has been reiterated variously that passengers pay a lot of taxes at the airports and despite the criticism by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which described Abuja and Lagos airports the costliest airports in Africa and among the tops in the world in terms of taxes paid by passengers, FAAN is still introducing new charges. Many travellers have also adduced that it is only at Nigerian airports that passengers pay for trolleys because trolleys are free in most airports in the world.

Passenger Facilitation

Aviation industry experts have excoriated the delays encountered by passengers during the boarding process, from the time they entered the terminal to the time they queue to get the boarding pass. They identified major cause of the delay to security checks. They noted that unlike in many airports in the world, there are too many security checks and too many security personnel, many of whom impair quick passenger movement.

They noted that at first many of the security operatives appear stern and business-like and when they push passengers to a corner with real or trumped up allegation, they melt to extortion. I can tell you that any security system at the airports or elsewhere, where security personnel compromise their status through bribery or extortion, that security system is compromised. And that is what happens every day at the airports.

So, industry experts who spoke to THISDAY identified factors that inhibit passenger comfort at international airports and these include too many security personnel and too many checks. They noted that most security personnel come to make money at the airports. Then there is the issue of cleanliness of the airports, especially the toilets and at the departure there are no enough seats at the old international terminal.

They also spoke about the menace of the tow van operators and the newly set up task force to eradicate touts at the international airports that use the opportunity given to them to engage in illicit businesses.

The Chairman of West Link Airlines Limited, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, asserted that all operatives at the airports must abide by the rules and regulations of FAAN, which is the landlord, stressing that they must obey FAAN’s processes.

“FAAN is landlord and their processes should be first respected. There should be passengers’ free flow.. That’s a good order but we should handle it with national security in mind. There are too many checks and check points should be dismantled.Today, machines exist that can detect drugs and other things in luggage. FAAN should acquire them and keep them before the terminal for arriving luggage and after checkin and before the departure containers for departing luggage. Hand luggage can be scanned also and suspicious items could be pulled aside. If you miss your flight once, you will amend next time not to carry suspicious items in hand luggage. It happens outside Nigeria; so, we can also do it here,” he said.

Multiple Security Agencies

Aviation security expert and the CEO of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consultant, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), told THISDAY that one of the major problems of Nigeria’s airports today was the introduction of multiple security agencies and multiple control.

Ojikutu recalled that even before the incident of 9/11, “the Al Gore Report and the establishment of the TSA (Transport Security Administration) in the US, we have tried similar thing as the TSA at the MMIA in 1993/94 when I was the Military Airport Commandant.”

He said during that time there was an attempt to have one Airport Security Committee, where all the government security agencies like Immigration, Customs, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and others would be under one command.

“Those in the management of the government aviation agencies  need to read Annex 17.3.1.5 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which asked member nation to create National Aviation Security Committee and not National Civil Aviation Security Committee as against the National Civil Aviation Security Committee that is contained in the Nig CARs (Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations) that provides for FAAN to be coordinating the government security agencies working in the airport for aviation security functions.

“It is only in Nigeria that a setup of such can be seen not even in Rwanda whose Avsec (Aviation Security) personnel are police and trained by our own FAAN. I have said it many times that our Avsec setup is the worst I have ever seen with over six generations Security agencies and they all carrying arms. Aviation Security is not about force application nor its multiplication but more of Profiling behavioural patterns of all those connected to civil aviation activities be they passengers staff, visitors and flights,” he said.

Tow Van Operatives

Many years ago, in order to enable easy flow of traffic at the Lagos airport, FAAN outsourced that aspect of vehicular traffic management by engaging a firm, which tows vehicles that breach car park rules to ensure free flow of traffic. Anyone whose vehicle is towed pays penalty. But the outsourced company has abused the rule of engagement; that they go outside the areas mapped out for them to tow vehicles and they destroy any vehicle they tow because of their obsolete tow vans and equipment. The tow charges are arbitrary because they can charge you any among they want, according to their greed. This leaves travellers and others who use the airport frustrated and despondent. The tow van workers are even used to carry out vendetta. Some members of FAAN staff call them to tow vehicles parked at designated parking spaces. THISDAY had witnessed a situation where a FAAN staff called the tow van workers to tow a vehicle parked inside FAAN headquarters “because the vehicle should not have parked there during weekend even if the owner came to transact a business.”

The Executive Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Olu Ohunayo, told THISDAY that the tow company has engaged in many infractions.

“Well, I have seen too many infractions with the towing vehicle people, and at times you wonder if the management of FAAN is thinkingof their action or in connivance with the team. I have seen cases whereby vehicles who mistakenly want to approach the old cargo gate, only for them to find out that, that gate is no more available before they make a u-turn there. But when they do that they are blocked by the towing workers and they begin to extort them on the guise of tolling them. I think there is a need for improved road markings and instructions on the road to give clarity to people. You cannot pick a call while driving but what is wrong in parking safely to make that call and then they approach you to tow the vehicle for parking to make a call that you would not pick while driving.

“That is some of the things I have seen in them. And I see the rickety vehicles and even the personnel used by this towing vehicle both in their appearance and in talking. I think they have not shown any sense of having that feeling that they are in an airport environment. So, I am strongly in support of having a total change, overhaul of the present team in the towing vehicles. If FAAN cantake it over; then they should please do, and if they can’t, I think a professional organization should be sought that will bring quality vehicles and professionally dressed and the people who will handle this and there will be automation in the payment procedure. Because the payment procedure is still very fraudulent and it is because of the fraudulent mode of paymentthat makes the workers become aggressive and even go beyond the permits given to them as an area of oppression. I think the idea is to remove unnecessary vehicle parking within the airport roads; but then you see them getting too aggressive, going beyond the rules just because of that lack of automation in the payment process,” Ohunayo said.

Cleaner Airport

The Managing Director, Flight and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan, spoke to THISDAY about the importance of having clean airports and also frowned at the illicit activities that go on at the airports.

 “By now Nigeria ought to have in place a national designed architecture for our international airports, a framework for operational infrastructure, legal and regulatory frameworks where all operating businesses tailor their programs to fit.My point is that if a world-class system is in place and it is functioning, it should enable illegal actions stand out like the sorethumb, of improper conducts by personnel as well as non functioning infrastructures like toilets or the security systems. Then FAAN Managing Director and his/her team would be working to innovate the system to make it competitive and probably surpass what is obtained elsewhere.

“It may not be the best strategy to throw into the airports lowly motivated personnel from a society that is invested with negative cultural values in the attempt to solve security problem and poor attitude to maintenance. This seems to be at best a short term reactionary approach to curing visitors/customers experience in our airports. International Civil Aviation Organization and Airport Council International have guidelines which FAAN has been observed to adopt in the management of the airports. The recommendation here is for FAAN management to design and develop airport management system that will outlive regimes.

“It should be a system that will run in spite of the political leadership in power. A system that penalty for breach of regulations and non compliance would have been prescribed and applicable to all conducting businesses at the airports.

“The current practices of towing vehicle contracts appear like a contractor patronage at the discomfort of the airport end users.Camera coverage supported by an interdiction team would be more effective than taskforce on touts.Standard recommended fence for the airport with camera coverage would create easier security management.The words and actions of the current MD of FAAN clearly seeks to improve the image of the airports by tackling these obvious negative practices and its effects. But we cannot continue with this approach. Other countries are setting up hub airports that are user friendlier and provide world-wide connections,” Akpan said.

According to the experts, the factors pointed out, if not looked into, may frustrate a bigger programme of airport concession.