NAHCO, Turkish Airline strengthen partnership for efficient cargo imports, exports
The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc. (nahco aviance) has solidified its partnership with Turkish Airlines to ensure seamless importation and exportation of cargoes.
This partnership is coming at a time when NAHCO is driving a five-year transformation plan with a focus to be more customer focus.
Speaking during an event in Lagos to solidify the partnership between the two companies, Olatokunbo Adenike Fagbemi, the group managing director/ chief Executive Officer said the partnership is about ensuring NAHCO does things in such a way that it is easy for Turkish airlines to service the clients and the shippers better and it is easy for the shipper to understand the activities of Turkish airline.
Fagbemi explained that with this partnership, imports and exports of cargoes will be seamless with NAHCO being the go-between of
the exporters, shippers and freight forwarders.
She explained that NAHCO has been in business with Turkish Airline since 2006 but the solidification of this enterprise is because Turkish Airline is getting into some automation in its new terminal and NAHCO is looking to transform its business in the next five years, so the need to reflect this transformation with regards cargo imports and exports is paramount.
On what NAHCO is doing to ensure export of cargo meet European Union standard, she said since the beginning of the year the company has consistently engaged all its stakeholders and clients on processes goods must go through to meet EU’S standard.
“We sometimes call the airlines and the shippers for us to change this process to be in line with the EU. The airlines and the shippers listen to each other. In Nigeria, there are lots of opportunities for exports that are not yet tapped. If an airline is coming with freighters, how much of the freighter’s space is being filled? The people that are in the room for this event are some of the people that will influence it to be filled. So, it is nice to have these engagements so we can benefit as a country. We are looking at how the country can benefit.
“We have a lot of agricultural products that can be exported but a lot of the produce is being destroyed and that is because the exporters don’t understand some of the things that they need to do. So this engagement is just the beginning of several more so that at the end of the day, the full benefits of export cargo can be tapped.”
Fagbemi disclosed that imports and exports of cargoes in the first half of 2019, has materially increased, adding that there is a market for agricultural produce in Nigeria but there are restrictions, that is why it is important that shippers understand these restrictions and manage them so that we don’t have their goods returned.