Quick Takes
FAAN Reviews Emergency Procedures
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN is currently reviewing its emergency procedures across airports in the country to promote safe flight operations. This was disclosed recently by the Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma during a one- day aviation strategic stakeholders’ conference on aircraft emergency in Lagos. Dunoma said it was the right time to do the review as the agency was currently in the process of certifying all the five major airports in the country. He noted that the current procedures needed to be improved upon in line with international best practices for the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Services (ARFFS) to effectively carry out their responsibilities. Dunoma who was represented by the Director Operations in the agency, Mr. Rabiu Yadudu promised to continuously strive to meet regulatory requirement and work in synergy with all relevant stakeholders to ensure safety of airport operations. “This is one of the best times for FAAN in general to hold this conference of this importance. A conference that addresses the challenges usually experienced in handling and management of aircraft emergencies; this is because we are currently in the process of certifying all the five major airports in the country”.
In-house Training Saves FAAN N500m
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said it has saved over N500 million from its in- house training programme for its staff across airports in the country. General Manager, training, FAAN, Mr. Nath McAbraham Inajoh said the aforementioned sum would have been spent on duty tour allowance (DTA) for overseas training of over 5,000 staff in the last one year. Inajoh who spoke on Economic Recession and survival strategy at the just concluded Nigeria Institute of Management, Ikeja chapter member’s week in Lagos, said the in- house training system had to be adopted as management was reluctant in embarking on any training due to paucity of funds. “Between 2013 till date, it’s been tough training in FAAN because of the economic situation and the panic I had was how do you supervise a department that is not doing anything because of paucity of funds, so we put our heads together and made a proposal to management and we said okay, what is the problem when it comes to the training, we discovered it was cost effective. In government, when you pay the consultant N3 million for a 2day programme and you have a class size of 30 staff, you going to pay the staff around N7 million for DTA’s, so the cost of that training programme is N10 million, when management sees N10 million they back off, the better part of the cost I saw was actually the allowances that goes to staff, so how do you manage that?” he queried.
Emirates Entices Nigerian Travellers
Emirates has announced the offering to Nigerians travellers the opportunity to explore all its 11 destinations in the US with special fares on Economy Class and Business Class tickets. “Whether you want to enjoy the relaxed feel of the West Coast, or taste the amazing and affordable cuisine in San Francisco, or even take a “tech-tour” of the Silicon Valley, the United States has something for every traveller,” the airline said it keeps all the options open. Emirates said all inclusive, Business Class fares from Lagos to Boston (BOS) starts at $6,349 while Economy Class fares to same destination starts at $1,249. From Lagos to Chicago starts at $6,349 for Business class while the Economy class fare for same destination starts at $1,349. From Lagos to Dallas/Fort worth (DFW) starts at $6,349 for Business class while the Economy class fare for same destination starts at $1,349. From Lagos to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) starts at $6,349 for Business class while Economy class fare for same destination starts at $1,499.