The Federal Government at the weekend suspended the operating licences of four airlines – Sosoliso Airlines, Fresh Airlines, Space World and Nicon Airways – in a determined bid to guarantee safety in the skies. This followed recent air mishaps which claimed several lives, including the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, two Senators and other prominent Nigerians who lost their lives in the ill-fated ADC plane which crashed in Abuja soon after it took off.
Announcing the new directive at the weekend, Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode said the measure would lead to a complete global re-certification of all the airlines in the country.
He however warned that while the Federal Govern-ment would extend its support in terms of creating an enabling environment for the airlines to have access to funds to modernise their fleet, operators that compromise safety would face the full wrath of the law.
“I will insist on the highest safety standards. I will not cut corners and I will not allow anybody to cut corners. I will act fast and decisively,” he declared at the weekend.
He also promised to implement to the letter, the recommendations of the Paul Dike committee, which was set-up by the Presidency a few years ago. He said the N19 billion intervention fund for the aviation industry would be judiciously spent to address the inadequacies in the aviation sector.
Fani-Kayode said he fully appreciated the harsh conditions under which the domestic airlines operate, assuring government’s determination to support them.
The grounding of the airlines came on the heels of the minister’s disclosure at a press conference in Lagos at the weekend that a fresh recertification exercise with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and other international agencies would be carried out on all the domestic airlines immediately.
THISDAY gathered that while the Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) of Sosoliso and Fresh Air were suspended on Friday night to enable them sort out some problems in their operations, one aircraft each from Space World and Fresh Air respectively were grounded as a result of technical problems uncovered in the aircraft by NCAA inspectors.
Media Assistant to the Director General of NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye who confirmed the development told THISDAY yesterday that the suspension of the Air Operating Licences of (AOCs) of Sosoliso and Fresh Air followed checks carried out on the airlines by inspectors. He added that the suspension was aimed at ensuring safety in the skies.
Although he was not specific on the exact problems or snags found out in the two suspended airlines, he however added that all the domestic airlines are now to be subjected to weekly checks/inspection by the NCAA.
Reacting to the suspension, the Managing Director of Sosoliso Airlines, Mr. Oscar Ikwuemesi said the minister had earlier announced that all the airlines would be subjected to a comprehensive audit. He added that the exercise had commenced and his airline happened to have fallen among the first to be audited.
Ikwuemesi who said the airline which had already signed up for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Gap Analysis in a bid to underscore its resolve to ensure safe operations noted that any action taken by the relevant authorities to ensure safety would receive the support of his airline’s management.
Meanwhile, the Sokoto State House of Assembly at the weekend advocated for the purchase of a private aircraft for the Sultan of Sokoto, as well as for his equivalents in other parts of the country.
“These air crashes have became almost a routine in the country. The obnoxious trend should be urgently stopped,” Alhaji Ibrahim Haske, Sokoto South I Constituency declared, while moving a motion for the purchase of a new aircraft for the Sultan and other royalties in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, Haske moved a motion to that effect on the floor of the House on Friday.
He said: “I can recall that over 300 persons have lost their lives in no fewer than four air crashes in the last one year.”
He also called on the Federal Government to urgently restructure the Federal Ministry of Aviation and its agencies to make them more alive to their responsibilities.
“The nation’s aviation policies should also be reviewed and made more plausible and pungent,” the lawmakers added.
The Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Abdullahi Maigwa-ndu, who presided over the sitting, also called on the Federal Government to purchase ultra modern aircraft and loan them to the private airlines.
“They can also be assisted with soft loans. The successful reform in the banking sector can also be replicated in the aviation sector,” Maigwandu advised.
The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Mohammadu Maccido, his son, (a Senator), and other prominent Nigerians, including Senator Ghandi, were among the 104 passengers on board the ill-fated ADC airlines flight to Sokoto which crashed on Saturday, October 28, this year.
The plane had crashed in a storm shortly after take-off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The ADC crash was the country’s third major air disasters in the last one year.
Also, there was jubilation at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in Lagos, as the new Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, approved a new condition of service for its workers.
Fani-Kayode, who was on his maiden visit to Lagos, gave the approval following a request by the FAAN Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, that the new condition of service was already overdue.
The minister, who promptly gave the approval, said the implementation would begin from this month.
Though details of the new conditions were not unveiled, FAAN workers jubilated as the minister announced the approval of the scheme, which had pitched the unions against FAAN management earlier in the year.
Fani-Kayode, however, urged the workers to reciprocate the gesture as he would not tolerate unproductive work force.
He spoke as he oversaw the closing ceremony of a security training programme for FAAN staff in Lagos.
The minister warned the staff that he would not tolerate cartels, vowing to flush them out wherever they were found in any aviation parastatals agencies.
Fani-Kayode also restated his determination to enhance safety in the industry, saying this was what occasioned his desire to re-certify all airlines in the country.
Nov192006