Business
Aviation 2020: A Battle For Survival
The Nigerian aviation sector in 2020 could be likened to a town ravaged by war with wanton destruction of lives, infrastructure and economy, that will take some time to rebuild. Although the sector started on a good footing in the beginning of the year, the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in the first quarter of 2020 caused the industry an unimaginable setback.
The Coronavirus pandemic, otherwise known as COVID-19, came like a flood, which suddenly broke down all facets of operations in an already flourishing sector, leaving negative imprints that stakeholders are still battling to tackle.
Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Nigerian aviation industry was in steady throttle, ranging from the certification of Abuja and Lagos airports, and the move to also certify the Port Harcourt International Airport and others.
Also, in the later part of 2018, the international terminal of the Port Harcourt Airport was commissioned, and the reconstruction work on the runway of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu was awar-ded in August, 2019, all geared towards full operations in 2020.
Generally, the aviation sector in the country was full of activities, with efforts being made to upgrade infrastructure in most of the major airports in the country. From January to the middle of March, airports became a beehive of activities, while travelling by air became the delight of many Nigerians, especially when compared with road transportation that has almost become a nightmare due to deplorable roads and general insecurity.
But that was how far the aviation sector could go in 2020. The once bubling sector suddenly began to witness a terrible downturn in operations as soon as the COVID-19 started to rear its ugly head. The total closure of all the nation’s airports for a period of about six months by the Federal Government in an effort to check the spread of the pandemic was the climax of the misfortune in the aviation industry.
Although all the nation’s major airports are now open to operations, there is still a lull in the activities of airlines.
The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, in the build up to the reopening of the nation’s airports, in line with the agency’s core values of safety, security and comfort of passengers, held a Skype meeting with Munich Airport International to share experience and compare notes on the effects of the COVID-19 lock-down on the airports.
The aim was to assess the readiness of FAAN to gradually begin operations, following the Federal Government’s directive for reopening of the four regional airports.
The FAAN boss said, “While FAAN is responding to the guidelines set by the NCAA for gradual airport reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic period, it is important to also compare notes with other airports in the world to make sure that we are on the right track, and join the global industry in building back travel confidence.
“Munich Airport has successfully reopened it’s airport and has recommended domestic and international flights, so it is worth sharing their experience with them”, Yadudu said.
Though there are guidelines issued by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Airports Council International (ACI), for the purpose of reopening, the guidelines would become more successful if they are adopted based on the peculiarities of the airport environment.
At the Port Harcourt International Airport, for instance, the reopening for flight operations was greeted with numerous challenges, as many restrictions and procedures were introduced, thus raising a lot of dust and questions among stakeholders and airport users.
The negative effects of COVID-19 on airline operations brought about the issue of difficulty in the payment of staff salaries by the airlines. The maintenance of aircrafts became a major challenge with threats of sack of workers still in contention.
FAAN is not exempted. The Authority is battling with the payment of its staff salaries, which was quite unusual in the history of the agency. This has even led to a pocket of protests by its workers.
In one of the interviews granted to The Tide by the FAAN’s Head of Public Affairs at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Mr Kunle Akinbode, he admitted that lack of funds made individuals, including staff of FAAN, to contribute money for the procurement of items required to meet the COVID-19 standard protocol for the reopening of the airport.
The situation also made the airport authority to look inward to reconsider its system of revenue drive, which led to the unusual constitution of a revenue committee to recover monies being owed FAAN.
Akinbode, in the interview, said that there had been airlines that owed FAAN, but did not pay before liquidation, adding that FAAN had decided to wake up.
“FAAN had been relaxing in the collection of debts. These concessionaires look at FAAN with the idea that it is government business, so we have decided to wake up, maybe because of pressure from COVID-19”, he said.
Looking at the turn of events in the aviation industry in the country in the last one year, compared to the previous years, it is obvious that the sector faired roughly in 2020.
The concessionaires and airlines now go through tough times in operations, as cost of maintenance, repairs and overhaul of aircrafts are in hard currency, with the value of naira continuously depreciating against the dollar.
Rather than employing, airlines are contemplating retrenchment of workers; rather than acquiring more fleets of aircrafts, airlines are battling with aircrafts maintenance and how to settle the debts owed FAAN, obviously due to paucity of funds.
This informs why the airlines have jacked up their flight ticket prices by 300 per cent within the last two months in order to cushion the effects of almost six months of non operation.
There is no gainsaying the fact that 2020 is one of the worst years for the Aviation sector, no thanks to the Coron-avirus pandemic. The situation will, therefore, require proactive steps and efforts on the part of both the government and airline operators to reinvigorate the sector. Such steps will include granting bail-out to airlines by the government, and if inevitable, a merger of some airlines to save them from total collapse.
By: Corlins Walter
The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) says it has registered 160 Port stakeholders into its Regulated Port Service Provider and Users platform since the initiative began in 2023.
Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, made the disclosure on the sideline of a sensitisation programme by the commission for port operators in Lagos, with the theme, “Regulated Port Service Provider and Users”.
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, Akutah emphasised the significance of the programme for stakeholders.
He said the sensitisation programme was the second edition after its commencement during the last quarter of 2023.
The Secretary said the 160 registered port operators consist of agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, individual port users as well as service providers.
“We invited the ports stakeholders for enlightening them on the processes for online registration of Regulated Port Service Provider and Users.
“We have demonstrated to them how to register and how to make payment and we were able to present before them the various categories of the registration.
“The rate of payment is also in the registration. The payment of each group depends on the operation. A shipper pays N30,000, terminal operators and shipping companies pay N300,000, truckers also pay N30,000, while some pay N50,000 and N100,000.
“The Council was able to intimate them on the benefits, because port users benefit more as we help to interface on reducing port charges from time to time”, Akutah said.
He said that there was a need to continue to work with port operators to stop delays and eliminate high costs to make the port efficient.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Stakeholders, Service, NSC, Mr Celestine Akujobi, said “the sensitisation exercise was important for the council to enable us bring all the port stakeholders together”.
According to him, this is to avoid challenges during the implementation of the council’s responsibilities.
“By the time we introduce sanctions on defaulters, no operators will complain that he or she is not aware of the registration.
“I’m happy with the turnout of this sensitisation. This shows that the operators are well informed of the statutory friction of the council as the port regulator.
“The final implementation will commence as soon as we discover that all the operators have keyed into the portal.
“We are engaging other ports across the country and we’re hopeful that before the last quater of 2024, the council will implement sanctions on defaulting operators”, Akujobi said.
Earlier, Vice Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwards (NAGAFF), Dr Ifeanyi Emoh, said port challenges were enormous, adding that they originated from some of the government agencies.
Emoh urged the council to look into regulating other government agencies, so that there could be a window through which they can collect port charges collectively instead of indiscriminately.
By: Chinedu Wosu
Chivita| Hollandia (CHI Limited) leading fruit juice and value-added dairy manufacturer in Nigeria has rewarded its long standing distributors at the recently held 2024 Distributor Conference. The event with the theme, “Break Boundaries Exceed Expectations” served as a platform to recognise and reward the exceptional contribution of the distributors and wholesalers who play a critical role in Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited) success and business goals for the year.
The Distributor Conference was held in two sessions. While the morning session featured keynote addresses, industry insights and brand immersion experience, the evening session was a cultural display of elegance and funfair that culminated in the award presentation and recognition of the contribution the trade partners made to the company in the 2023 year under review.
A key highlight of the event was the award ceremony which acknowledged outstanding trade partners in various regions across the country. The awards recognized commitment, dedication, and outstanding performance in areas of sales growth, brand promotion, and market expansion.
Eelco Weber, Managing Director, Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited), stated that the company’s success story is incomplete without the strong partnerships it has built with trade partners. “Today, we celebrate not only the achievements, but the collaborative spirit that has made our growth possible” he said.
Bola Arotiowa, Chief Commercial Officer, Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited), in his statement revealed that, the event which was first of its kind will continue to be an annual meeting to enable the company work more closely with its distributors, share insights and action points, help the trade partners familiarize themselves with the company’s goals and objectives for each year, and serve as a driver for mutual success.
“Our distributors are the backbone of Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited). Their relentless efforts in distributing our products, promoting our brands, and expanding our reach across the nation is truly commendable. As the bridge between us and our valued consumers, it is very important to reward their hard work and dedication for being an essential part of the Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited) family. Together, we will continue to deliver great products to our conusmers which in turn will deliver value to them”, Mr. Arotiowa added.
Speaking at the conference, HajiyaBilikisuSaida, Chief Executive Officer of Smabirm Nigeria Limited, who won the Outstanding Distributor of the Year in North 1 region, and got a reward of two million Naira worth of Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited) products expressed delight at the company’s recognition, and stated that the awards served as a way to inspire distributors to do more and put in more effort, which in turn would help both the distributors and the company to grow.
Other outstanding performance distributors of the year rewarded with a two million Naira worth of Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited) stock include, Sunny Chuks Limited for East 1 region, MRS FA & Sons Limited for East 2 region, Hussakas Ventures for North 2 region, Rookee 1388 Ventures for Lagos 1 region, Pik N Pil Ventures for Lagos 2 region, FaithJoe Event Management Limited for West 1 region, and Progress Family Nigeria Enterprise for West 2 region.
The annual Distributors Conference aims to strengthen the bond between Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited) and its trade partners. This collaborative approach fosters mutual growth and ensures the continued success of the brands in the Nigerian market.
A global leader in insurance and asset management, AXA Mansard, has supported three female-owned MSMEs with business grants totaling 1.4 million to boost their operations.
This, the company said, is part of its commitment to women and the Medium, Small, and Medium-scale Enterprise (MSME) sector in the country.
The three businesses were successful at the International Women’s Day Pitch Competition, organised in partnership with SME 100 Africa in Lagos.
According to the Head of Marketing, AXA Mansard, Olusesan Ogunyooye, the competition, which is aimed at supporting female entrepreneurs in Nigeria, “is another way AXA is demonstrating its commitment to the causes of women and stimulating the MSME sector in Nigeria”.
The business pitch competition received numerous entries from women across different sectors, but after a rigorous selection process, shortlisted participants were selected to participate in the competition.
Ogunyooye said “the programme provided a unique opportunity for women from various works and socio-economic classes to showcase their innovative ideas and solutions in sectors such as food, tech, fashion, and fragrance, creating an atmosphere filled with excitement, enthusiasm, and a strong sense of community”.
He stressed the importance of investing in women, saying it is not just the right thing to do, but also aligns with AXA’s purpose of acting for human progress.
He explained that AXA believes the future of women should not be at risk, hence investing in their economic empowerment is a crucial part
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