Why aircraft maintenance facilities are needed –AON

Nigeria must establish an aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul ( MRO) facility to maximise the benefits in the aviation sector, the Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison, has said.

Meggison said merely establishing a national carrier will not develop the sector, adding that aircraft MROs have the capacity to create thousands of jobs and retain huge sums of money in the country that indigenous carriers spent on the repairs of their aircraft overseas.

The Aviation Road Map, developed by the immediate past aviation minister Princess Stella Oduah, has on the top of its agenda, the establishment of a national carrier, among others.

The Supervising Minister of Aviation Chief Samuel Ortom has continued with the implementation of the roadmap because he said it is a laudable programme that should be supported by all Nigerians.

Ortom also promised government would invest in critical infrastructure in the aviation industry which may include the MRO.

Speaking in an interview in Lagos, Capt. Meggisson, who is also the President of Jed Air, said establishing an aircraft maintenance facility in the country will assist to train the horde of aviation professionals including aircraft engineers.

Meggisson called on government to consider granting multiple entry points into Nigeria by foreign carriers, saying: “Unfriendly business environment where operators grapple with multiple charges has not accelerated the process that would lead to private sector players showing interest in setting up aircraft repair centres.”

“If some of the intervention fund given by government were channeled into the establishment of aircraft repairs facility, the industry would have made some progress. I don’t think the national carrier is the issue. Our policies are the issue. We had a national carrier in the defunct Nigeria Airways. One of the main issue was not being able to pay for its maintenance bills of airplanes scattered all over the world including Brazil, Ireland, Germany, France, USA, and Israel.”