Aviation
‘Passenger Service Charge Belongs To NCAA’
The five percent Pas
senger Service Charge (PSC) collected by airlines operating in Nigeria statutorily belongs to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which the regulatory agency uses in running its day to day activities.
The Acting Director-General of the NCAA, Mr Benedict Adeyileka, disclosed this in Lagos while speaking at the presentation of the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to Azman Air recently.
According to the Director Genera, some operators had the erroneous belief that the PSC belongs to them and that they are doing the NCAA a big favour by remitting it to the agency.
Mr Adeyileka said it was for the convenience of the passengers that is why it was factored into the ticket, explaining that salaries and training of staff of the NCAA were some of the activities gulping the money.
Advising the airline, he said getting an Air Operator Certificate was not the problem but what you do with it, how you manage it in the course of operations and how the passengers are treated will determine the image of the airline before the flying public.
The Acting Director General told the management of Azman Air that it should feel free to come to NCAA any time the Airline had any problem, adding that “our doors are very open, we are there to solve any problem that may arise in the industry.
We do not play politics with safety, we want the airline to survive and your continued operations means money for the NCAA to perform its statutory functions. We shall ground any airline that violates safety rules,” Adeyileka said.
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Aviation Professionals Want Agencies Boards’ Inauguration
As a measure to curb corruption and restore accountability, the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), has called on the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to push for the urgent formation and inauguration of governing boards for all other aviation agencies.
ANAP’s Secretary General, AbdulRasaq Saidu, made this call at the weekend when interacting with aviation correspondents, in reaction to recent inauguration of Board of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Keyamo had recently inaugurated the FAAN board, more than six months after its members were appointed by President Bola Tinubu, where Dr. Umar Ganduje was named Board Chairman, with FAAN’s Managing Director, Olubunmi Kuku, as the Vice Chairman.
Other board members include representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Defence, Tourism, and Aviation, as well as professionals from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, and FAAN’s legal department.
The ANAP scribe there urged the aviation Minister not to stop at FAAN but to ensure that all aviation parastatals are given functional boards to restore order and credibility to the sector.
He, however, commended Keyamo for recently inaugurating the board of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria but stressed that more needed to be done.
Saidu also warned that the continued delay in constituting boards for other aviation agencies creates room for unchecked abuses, including illegal contracts, fraudulent employment practices, and mismanagement.
“The absence of governing boards violates the enabling Acts that established these agencies. Only properly constituted boards can enforce discipline, ensure due process in decision-making, and provide oversight to prevent corruption”, Saidu said.
He emphasised that the aviation unions, including ANAP, have consistently raised concerns about poor governance and lack of transparency within the aviation system.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to act swiftly by appointing board members for all relevant agencies, in the interest of fairness and aviation safety.
Saidu also tackled the former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, for failing to inaugurate any boards during his eight-year tenure, despite appointments being made by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“ANAP raised the alarm several times under Sirika’s leadership, but nothing changed. That lapse has continued under the current administration, and it must be addressed now”, Saidu stated.
By: Corlins Walter
