The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has
announced government’s plan to buy 30 aircraft as part of its plans to boost
the operations of the aviation industry.
The Corporate
Communications General Manager of FAAN, Mr Yakubu Dati, said during an
inspection of the renovated Benin Airport on Wednesday, that the fund would be
sourced from part of the aviation intervention fund of the Federal Government.
Dati said that
the new development entailed buying and distributing aircraft to domestic
airline operators unlike the old practice of giving out aviation intervention
funds to them which they allegedly misused.
He said the
procurement of the aircraft would be funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), in conjunction with Bank of Industry (BOI).
He added that
the initiative would help in reducing the cost of travelling by air in the
country.
“I also want
to say at this point that the issue of assisting domestic carriers has been
uppermost on the mind of the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah. “And that is
why the issue of the removal of tariffs and taxes on aviation spare-parts was
done by President Goodluck Jonathan.
“This is to
help the airlines operate profitably and also make it more attractive for
investors because spare-parts are the major cost component on the aviation
sector.
“The minister
of aviation is also making plans to bring in about 30 aeroplanes to be able to
assist local airlines.
“So with all
these, we believe that eventually, we will now have cheaper tickets and by the
time we have cheaper tickets, there will be higher traffic.
“Because if
you cut the cost of doing business, then the person doing the business has no
reason but to also cut the cost of running it because we believe that one hour
flight in Nigeria shouldn’t cost more than N10, 000 or N15, 000.
“And the whole
idea is to make the business cheaper and easier to operate so that Nigerians
who are the ultimate beneficiaries should be the passengers and they should
board with cheaper tickets,” he said.
He said that
the Benin Airport was one of the 11 airports that were remodelled and
reconstructed in the first phase of President Jonathan’s administration’s
transformation agenda.
He said that
the reason for the transformation of the aviation industry was to ensure that
the nation’s airports and terminals became the centres of commercial and
economic activities.
The manager
said that the Benin airport underwent major renovation for the first time since
it was opened in 1979. He said that the reconstructed airport would be
inaugurated soon as additional 22 airports had been earmarked for major
reconstruction nationwide. He said the revolution in the sector was a
deliberate plan as contained in the aviation master plan to restore Nigeria’s
aviation industry to where it truly belonged as a hub in Africa aviation and to
be able to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Commenting on the
issue of abandoned aircraft littering most of the airports, Dati said the
owners had been directed to remove them as they constituted a menace and danger
to the flying public. Dati, however, said that some of the owners were in court
as the aircraft were subject of litigation. He said that the matter was being
handled by the legal department of FAAN, adding that as soon as the case was
dispensed with, the aircraft would be removed. Earlier, the Benin Airport
manager, Mr Ayodele Olusegun, who conducted the inspection team on the facility
tour, said between 25,000 and 26,000 passengers travelled from the airport
monthly. He said that the 200 seat capacity departure hall had been upgraded
through the on-going renovation to 350 seats.
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