The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said it remitted N16.7 billion to the Federation Account last year. The agency also revealed that in order to reduce congestion at the Lagos airport’s domestic terminal, it had almost completed work on its expansion.
Speaking during a joint working visit of the Senate and House Committee on Aviation, led by Senator Smart Adeyemi and Nnolim Nnaji, respectively, at FAAN’s headquarters in Lagos, at the weekend, Managing Director of the agency, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, disclosed that FAAN proposed a revenue budget of N188 billion for 2022, an increase of 50.4 per cent, compared to 2021, which was N125.4 billion.
Yadudu said though FAAN had no operating surplus, in December 2021, it remitted N16.7 billion to the Federation Account as contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, despite the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic during the period. He added that the agency had shifted its focus from the aeronautical sources of revenue to the non-aeronautical, in order improve its revenue performance.
In order to reduce traffic congestion at the Lagos airport’s domestic terminal, known as General Aviation Terminal (GAT), he said the agency had started rehabilitation of the facilities, which were already at 98 per cent completion, and targeted that the expansion arm would go into operation by the end of March.
Yadudu said recovery to pre-COVID levels in its revenue expectation might take about three to four years, saying the effect of the pandemic would likely be felt till 2024.
He said, “At the moment, passenger traffic is still about 56 per cent of pre-COVID-19 traffic. Nonetheless, the year 2021 was a better year when compared with 2020.”
Yadudu also said the authority was still faced with the challenge of debt recovery, especially debts owed by Arik Air, which he said was a significant portion of the agency’s debt portfolio. He said henceforth, sanctions would be imposed for non-payment of various services rendered to private airport terminals.
The managing director stated, “The authority is taking steps to terminate non-performing concession agreements and engage new concessionaires. We hope to make significant progress before the end of the second quarter. Car parks automation at the various airports is presently going on, before the end of the year we should have achieved a great result.
“We commend the effort of the committees on aviation with respect to intervention so far in the recovery of Arik debts, inherited by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). However, we need further assistance to bring the issue to a logical conclusion as the huge debts are still outstanding.”
Earlier, during a visit to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the joint committee expressed disappointment with the domestic airlines for incessant flight delays and said the National Assembly would soon come up with legislation that would empower the NCAA to grant permits to willing foreign airlines to carry out domestic operations.
Adeyemi said domestic operators did not care about the effects of protracted flight delays and cancellations on passengers. He also said airlines’ performances recorded with NCAA would be released to the public with a caveat on their health statuses.
Responding, Director General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, said the complaints by the legislators against domestic operators were well founded and pledged that, henceforth, the agency would be firmer on infractions by the airlines, especially those relating to consumer abuse.
Reacting to the threat of approving the licensing of foreign airlines to operate domestic services in Nigeria, General Secretary of Aviation Round Table (a think-tank body in the industry) and former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu, urged the National Assembly not to give such approval, unless it wanted to kill domestic carriers and also force thousands of Nigerians out of jobs.
Chinedu Eze
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