From his
home in Ganawuri community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State,
Bernad Bagu forced his way through the foggy weather to make it to the airport
in time. On his arrival at Jos Airport he looked at his wristwatch to be sure
he was on time for his flight. Time passed, but Bagu and other passengers on
his flight were not called for boarding. The flight from Jos to Lagos has
been delayed.
So Bagu
spent the whole day at the airport without making his trip as his flight was
delayed and eventually cancelled due to bad weather. He had purchased the
ticket without looking into the aviation porter to be sure of flight status and
weather reports among other information.
And while it
was a sorry tale for Bagu, his colleague, Chom Moses had a good experience at
the airport. Clad in his harmattan wear torrents of thoughts engaged his mind
on his way to the airport. ‘What’s the weather like today, the cost and which
airline is the best for the journey’ were some of the thoughts running through
the tunnel of his mind.
Then, he
remembered someone mentioned the aviation portal for reliable information. He
pulled his car to a stop and quickly reached out for his smartphone to check www.aviationportal.com.ng where he got answers to
his questions and even more.
Not only
that, he dialled 0700011111, the helpline where he made further inquiries.
Now, barely
a month since the Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, launched the new
Aviation Passengers Service (APS) portal and the Aviation Helpline, air
travellers have embraced the one-stop platform that provides a single platform
where the flying public can access real time information about airlines
operations and services at any of the airports in Nigeria.
Indeed, from
statistics, Nigerians believed the aviation portal will transform the aviation
sector into a customer-centric industry.
For
instance, an online poll indicated a 65 per cent of respondents who affirmed
the relevance of the new platform to the industry’s growth. In another poll 48
per cent of travellers believed it will help them in their journey.
Presently
flights are being delayed, diverted or cancelled as a safety measure due to the
harmattan haze which causes blurred visibility and sometimes gives rise to low
level wind shear that may hamper air safety.
Undoubtedly, where
terminal visibility falls below the prescribed weather minimal, safety takes
pre-eminence.
To be sure,
the Aviation authorities had forewarned of the dry and dusty harmattan wind
that blows southwest from the Sahara desert into the Gulf of Guinea to prepare
travellers using the airports in the country.
Since
assuming his position as Nigeria’s minister of aviation last year, Chidoka had
taken steps to ensure a better management of the sector.
For him, the
need to understand the sector better preceded his rapid reform. He was well
prepared.
Within the
short time of assuming office, he has proved his mettle by promptly identifying
patterns, spotting opportunities, making the connection between new
technology and existing customers, and seeing trends early enough to act on
them.
So to make
the aviation sector a success by international standards, the minister is
adopting a strong customer service focus including measurement of passenger
satisfaction at the airports. He has engaged with corporations, government
agencies and service providers to bring about these changes.
Of course,
the airport community forms an integrated service chain where inputs from
multiple stakeholders are required to provide an end-to-end service to the
customers.
For
them, the portal will remove costs, increase accountability and improve
decision making by stripping out unnecessary bureaucracy and layers of
management.
And for the
airlines, the aviation portal will reduce work in progress through the supply
chain, reduce time of response and make the sector more competitive.
The
traveller can submit complaints, suggestions and/or commendations to the
ministry and any of its agencies, thereby providing feedbacks on any issues
pertaining to domestic airlines and incidences at any of the airports in the
country upon which appropriate intervention will be taken by the relevant
officials.
Clearly, the
aviation portal is a stunning concept that is helping in better service
delivery. The portal has added additional attraction to Nigeria airports
for air travellers amidst the convenience that the remodelled airports now
offer to air travellers.
Yakubu Dati
General
Manager,
Corporate
Communications and Public Affairs
Tags
Opinion