Nigeria’s Ministry of Aviation in collaboration with agencies in the industry and the country’s National Assembly are set to review/amend all Aviation Agencies’ Act to provide effective management of services and align with modern technological development in line with international best practices and development in International Civil Aviation.
This is just the sector lost $994m revenue to the coronavirus pandemic and $885 million Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to the country’s economy in 2020 and is at risk of losing about 125,370 employments due to the disease, according to data by the International Airline Transport Association (IATA).
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Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika while delivering his Keynote address at the 25th League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) conference held in Lagos said the two Legislative Houses have held public hearings on the amendment Act and are at the stage of finalization of their report, adding that the review of the Acts include: The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Act (NCAA) 2006:
ii. Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria Act 2010;
iii. Nigeria Airspace Management Agency Act 1999;
iv. Nigerian College of Aviation Technology Act, 1964;
v. Nigerian Metrological Act, 2003; and
vi. Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau Act, 2019
The Minister, represented by the Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) Nigeria, Engineer Akin Olateru said to urgently improve the operating environment, some urgent steps were taken in consultation with relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies which yielded the following results:
i. Zero import duties on aircraft engine and spare parts
ii. Special foreign exchange window for the aviation sector
iii. Improved availability of aviation fuel
iv. Restructuring of the aviation agencies
v. Improvement in Aviation Safety and Security.
vi. Upgrade of NCAT into a Regional Centre of Excellence.
vii. Introduction of Policies on Remotely Piloted Aircraft.
viii. Employment Policies on the Enforcement of Expatriate Quota
ix. Nigeria presently has Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs) with eighty-nine (89) countries while fifteen (15) countries have indicated their preparedness to sign BASAs with Nigeria and thirteen (13) other countries are in the threshold of re-negotiation.
“You would recall that in 2016, after we conducted a diagnosis of the aviation industry, we convened a conference of all stakeholders where we emerged with a very clear road map for the development of the aviation sector with the ultimate aim of making aviation highly relevant to the Nigerian economy.
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“As you are aware Covid-19 has put the global economy to the test, with air transport being undoubtedly the hardest hit by the pandemic. The statistics from the International Airline Transport Association (IATA) on COVID-19’s economic impact on Nigeria has revealed a revenue loss of $994 million in 2020. In terms of employment at risk in Nigeria, it is 125,370 and loss of contribution to the GDP is $885 million.
“The Federal Government was able to cushion the effect of COVID – 19 by providing intervention of fund of Five (5) Billion Naira domestic airlines.
“We could not have achieved all these however without the cooperation, constructive criticism and great understanding of everybody in the industry.
“We are committed to achieving the completion of outstanding projects we have set out for ourselves before our term runs out.
“We have a vision of a sector that will provide utmost comfort, safety, and security for majority of passengers.”
