Minister for Transport, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has directed the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma to begin the process of reducing the number of security agencies involved in the physical checks at many of the country’s airports.
The Minister said the directive was necessary to cut down on cumbersome facilitation of travellers at the country’s airports, particularly, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
He stated this during the inspection of airport facilities at the Lagos. He was in company of the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Dunoma, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority Director-General, Capt. Usman Muhtar, Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), among others.
The FAAN aviation security (AVSEC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Directorate of State Security (DSS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Quarantine Service all engage in the duplication of duties during check-in, thereby elongating facilitation processes.
All over the world, travellers agree that it is only in Nigerian airports that passengers are made to pass through countless number of security points where they are tenaciously pestered for money by officials at each of the points.
Their actions tend to enjoy travel unenjoyable. Most times, long queue are formed. Nigeria has the one of the longest facilitation procedures in the world. In South Africa, Kenya and Cairo take less than ten minutes.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the clearing house for international airlines has come up with a number of suggestions to improve the end-to-end passenger process and to facilitate a seamless, secure and efficient passenger journey.
Meanwhile, Amaechi commended the various aviation agencies for engendering safety in the aviation industry, just as they have been asked to maintain the momentum.
Amaechi explained that so far, the agencies’ chiefs, with the little amount of money they generate, had been prudent with the acquisition of safety equipment, which had improved safety and security at airports, unlike some government parastatals in the country.
The minister however frowned at the level of decay noticed at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, which he said investments on ground could not be compared with revenue generated.
Amaechi and other dignitaries were shown graphic details how the agencies, NAMA and NCAA process e-clerance for airlines, which is done seamlessly.
The Minister said with what was shown him and others, aviation in Nigeria had grown from the past of paper clearance to electronic clearance and could compete with its counterparts anywhere in the world .
He explained that with the migration to e-clearance, the industry would earn more revenues while less time would be used to process clearance by airlines.
He said, “With what I have seen here today, it shows that Nigerian aviation industry can be compared to any developed ones anywhere in the world. This is unlike in the past where you waste time processing papers.
“I remember my experience at Akure Airport, which was sordid. The Airport Manager, a female came to me and said the airport was technically closed. But, I believe that didn’t happen to me alone as it equally affected others too.
“But, with this software, you can manage your time better and earn some revenues for yourself. The government should be commended for what it has done recently. What we saw in NIMASA was nothing to write home about when you compare the money they earn and the facilities you see on ground.”
Earlier the DG of the NCAA, Muhtar promised that the agencies management would continually drive the government’s vision of improving facilities.
Usman declared that as the regulator, NCAA had to continually amend its regulations, which it recently did with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, NCARs,
He added that the need to deploy technology to its clients could not over-emphasised, stressing that before the adoption of the aircraft e-flight clearance, clearance was done manually, but said it had collaborated with NAMA to ease clearance for airline.
Wole Shadare.com