NCAT Boss Lists Problems Of Aviation Sector

Rector of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Captain Chinyere Kalu, says the aviation industry in Africa is bedeviled by ageing aircraft, ageing infrastructure, antiquated funding options, astronomical airline operating cost and ageing workforce.

The NCAT boss stated this when she presented a paper at the Akwaaba 2012 which took place recently in Lagos.

According to her, “for the aviation industry to play key roles the industry must be staffed, manned and led by best minds in all aspects of its operation.”

“Such men and women need to be endowed, equipped and skilled to lead in this critical industry. Thus, training Africa’s future aviators is an imperative for planners and executors in the industry,” she said.

She observed that the aviation industry in Africa had been more responsive than proactive in its disposition and attributed this to African educational systems.

“African aviation training centres have produced mainly operational and maintenance personnel. This address the question, how do we use or operate what has been given to us or what  we have acquired?

“We have to train our people, Africans in particular so that we can manage our airlines by ourselves and if this happens, we are sure of having vibrant airlines within our sub-region as well as making the aviation industry in Africa a more competitive industry all over the world.

Kalu explained that the death of most airlines further plunged Africa into a state of economic sabotage, stressing that most of the national carriers were no longer functional due to economic recession in Africa.

According to the NCAT boss, the reason why most airline operators still carry out the maintenance of their aircraft abroad was because of the dearth of personnel who could easily carryout such maintenance on the African continent.

“The aviation industry in Africa is in desperate need of specialist such as planners, aviation strategists, savvy investors, and manufacturers. Such specialists will need specialised education and training,” she added.