Mr. Remi Jibodu, Chief Operating Officer of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, clarified that the unclaimed baggage at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2) is not auctioned at fixed prices to the public.
According to aviationmetric.com, he said that unclaimed baggage is kept for six months for the owners to reclaim them, explaining that after six months, the baggage is either destroyed or the content of the baggage is handed to charity.
Jibodu further stated that some baggage cannot be resold and as a policy, the terminal operator does not sell them as claimed by some online reports.
Jibodu made the disclosure when he and his team comprising the Head of Aviation Security, Ms Monica Oguta, Head of Corporate Communications, Mrs Ajoke Yinka-Olawuyi and Media Executive, Mrs Funmilayo Ayanwusi paid a courtesy visit to the management of New Telegraph in Lagos on Wednesday.
Daily Editor, Mrs. Juliet Bumah, Sunday Editor, Mr. Geoffrey Ekenna and Saturday Editor of New Telegraph Newspaper, Mr. Vincent Eboigbe received the team.
His words, “We do not sell unclaimed baggage. What we do as a policy is to wait for the owners to come and claim them. We put them in a safe place and wait for them to come and collect them. We usually wait for six months. After six months, we destroy them or give them to charity. Six months is long enough for people to reclaim their baggage.”
“People have lost or forgotten their personal belongings in the terminal and have come to pick them up. We cannot remember the last time we had a case of theft because of the security network around the terminal that runs for 34 hours”.
He was equally worried over the astronomical increase in the price of air tickets, saying airlines are not to be blamed. He attributed the situation to a high of operations; the high cost of jet fuel which he said takes nearly 50 per cent of the carrier’s revenue.
According to him, “In fairness to the airlines, they battle to get foreign exchange for the purchase of spare parts, maintenance of aircraft overseas, training of crew members and for training. The airlines are facing a lot of issues. They are looking for ways to survive and the easiest thing for them is to pass the costs to passengers”.
Jibodu expressed concern over the situation triggered by the economic downturn, one that has seriously affected the airlines and the terminal operator.
The MMA2 chief hinted that the MMA2 is in full collaboration with the airlines and all aviation agencies in a bid to promote service delivery in the aviation industry.
One thing is global and there is no how we can work in isolation. There must be a collaborative effort. There is no way all of us can say we don’t want to work together and that is what we are doing.
As part of innovation, he stated that the MMA2 invested massively in a 25-tonne cold storage facility at its terminal to boost air cargo capacity and offer seamless belly-cargo services.
The cold storage facilities he reiterated are designed to store perishable goods such as frozen meat, dairy products, plants and flowers, and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products among others.
Yinka-Olawuyi said part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) was a partnership with Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on breast cancer and to create awareness on how to prevent the deadly disease.
She further stated that MMA2 was intentional about its state-of-the-art facilities that have air travel from its terminal very seamless coupled with innovation to keep the facility the best in the country.
She further stated that its facilities for regional operations are still very intact and would be ready to operate from there soon.
Oguta on the other hand said security at MMA2 is a culture of excellence and has continued to be a reference point.
Responding, Bumah lauded the management of BASL for constantly improving facilities at MMA2, adding, ‘There is progress in terms of improvement of facilities.
She urged them to continuously work hard to see if they could replicate MMA2 in some other airports in the form of concession, stressing that for more than 17 years it has done well.
