Aviation: 2017 in retrospect
It was an eventful year for the Nigerian aviation sector in 2017. There were several highs and lows, but some critical events defined aviation in 2017. Ten of them are recalled below.
Following the failure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja runway, the Federal Government shut down the airport for six weeks to fix the runway and diverted traffic to the Kaduna International Airport. The repairs, handled by Julius Berger at the cost of N5.8bn, were delivered one day ahead of schedule as the airport reopened to traffic on April 18, 2017 as against April 19. The project was delivered within projected time, but about N10bn was lost in revenue by both airlines and the Nigerian government.
In May 2017, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the appointment of six transaction advisers for the proposed national carrier and concession of the four big airports (Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano).
The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had told reporters after the FEC meeting that all would be public-private partnership driven.
The transaction advisors, Messrs Lufthansa Consulting/ TN Aero FGE would handle the national carrier while Messrs Arrow would handle the aviation leasing company. For the concession of airports, Messrs Infrata Dantens; for the establishment of the MRO, Messrs Arrow; then, the aerotropolis and agro cargo terminals were given to JEBB. All of these were at different amounts, but the total sum is N1.524bn.
Construction of runway for Abuja approved by FEC
Also, the Federal Executive Council, within the year, approved the construction of a second runway for the Abuja airport. If Abuja had a second runway, the airport wouldn’t have been shut down just because one runway second airport failed. The second runway would also ensure that the airport was operational in case of emergency on the other runway. The Senate also endorsed it. It is hoped that construction would commence in 2018.
Lagos, Abuja airports get NCAA certification
The Murtala Muhammadu International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, all got the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) certification for safety and security. This is the first time any airport in Nigeria, and indeed, the entire West African sub -region, would be certified.
NCAT gets ICOA regional training centre of excellence
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) granted the regional centre of excellence status Following the failure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja runway, the Federal Government shut down the airport for six weeks to fix the runway and diverted traffic to the Kaduna International Airport to the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria. The president of the ICAO Council, Dr. Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu, gave the certificate of the NCAT’s new status to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the third ICAO World Aviation Forum (IWAF3) held in Abuja. With that status, Nigeria is recognised as an aviation training centre of excellence and will be training manpower for West Africa and beyond.
Nigeria hosted the third edition of the ICAO World Aviation Forum (IWAF3)
For the first time, the ICAO World Aviation Forum was held outside the ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Canada, and it came to Nigeria. That was a significant milestone for Nigeria and Africa. It held from 20 to 22 November 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria, to address the challenge of financing and creating an enabling environment at all levels for the development of aviation infrastructure in the spirit of global partnership and in support of ICAO’s “No Country Left Behind (NCLB)” initiative and the United Nations’ “Transforming our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
NiMet gets Africa’s 1st ISO 9001 2015 certification
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) got the ISO 9001 2015 certification, the first in Africa.