Nigeria celebrates 90 years of aviation in November

From when the very first flight landed in Kano in November 1925, Nigeria’s aviation industry has continued to witness developments that have been multi-dimensional in nature. After decades of highs and lows in this critical sector described as the gateway to Nigeria’s economy, it has become expedient for stakeholders to evaluate the industry’s past, present and the future in order to chart a better course.

With this in mind, Media Age Communications Nigeria Limited will be putting up a two-day event to

commemorate the celebration. There will be a breakfast seminar with theme: 90 YEARS OF AVIATION IN NIGERIA: Past, Present & The Future; on Friday, November 6, 2015 being the first day of the event. The seminar will be followed on the second day by a Road Walk on Saturday, November 7, 2015 from Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Headquarters to NCAA Annex by 7.00am.

This event has drawn much interest as Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), EAN Aviation, Pathfinders International among others have registered their sponsorship and support.

The breakfast seminar will be graced by invited aviation stakeholders where a guest speaker will be on ground and a panel of discussants will be constituted afterward to deliberate on the journey so far and looking ahead.

Despite the challenges facing the country’s aviation industry, there is still need to celebrate the years of existence because aviation has brought so much of growth and development to Nigeria.

For sponsorship and participation contact Ariyo Akinfenwa on +2348030526600 and mediaageng@gmail.com

NACCIMA VISITS SAHCOL WAREHOUSE

The Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Barrister Emmanuel Cobham has paid a facility visit to the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) warehouse. He was received by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Dr Oluropo Owolabi.

Barrister Cobhams, while expressing his delight opined that Nigeria has come of age with what he witnessed and that the SAHCOL warehouse can compete favorably with any cargo warehouse in the developed countries.

He said there is need for the general public to be aware of the level of standardization displayed by the new SAHCOL warehouse which was due to the level of professionalism displayed by the staff and Management of SAHCOL.

 In response, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Olu Owolabi emphasized that the new warehouse has created allowances for faster cargo collection and that there has been no record of pilfering or damage to cargo brought into the warehouse.

Speaking further, Owolabi called on the government to invest in exportation, especially in the area of packaging because it is embarrassing to see that the few exported materials out of the country are usually packaged with sacks.

David Etim a national officer, who was on the entourage of the DG, NACCIMA expressed the need for the government to have Collection Centres where farmers would drop their agro-products to be exported. He went further to say that farmers should be educated about storage and the need for proper packaging.

The DHL’s Airfreight Manager, Paul Liden, who was present during the visit, praised SAHCOL for its ingenuity in the new cargo facility, stating that, he has been quite impressed with the services that DHL has been receiving from SAHCOL. According to him, the efficiency ratio has been high and there has not been a record of damage or pilfering while return time has been shorter.

KANO, CALABAR AIRPORT EMERGE BEST AIRPORTS IN NIGERIA

Engr. Saleh  Dunoma, FAAN MD

The Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, have been adjudged best performing airport among the airports managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

According to the General Manager Corporate Communications of FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati, “The award was based on the Performance Management System (PMS) rating recently concluded by the Authority's Department of Planning. The PMS rating is an initiative for the Authority to measure, monitor and improve airport management and service quality through the assessment of each airport with the aim of improving travellers' experience.

The award which was presented by the Managing Director of FAAN, Engr. Saleh Dunoma at a recent event, was given in the category of Best Performing Domestic Airport for Calabar, and Best Performing International Airport for Kano. The awards were received by respective managers, Alhaji Mohammed Sanni (Calabar) and Alhaji Gambo Aboki (Kano).”

Margaret Ekpo International Airport Calabar emerged as the Best Domestic Airport for the first quarter while Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport emerged as Best International Airport in the country. Also, the Security Directorate of the Authority was given the Exemplary Performance Award for its role during the recently concluded ICAO Security Audit.

This second award was initiated by the Authority to encourage hard work and diligence among staff of FAAN in the discharge of their duties of providing safe and secure airports, improving and standardising airport operations, instituting minimum customer service standard, and transforming our airports into viable commercial and tourist centres, and customer friendly.

NIGERIAN SHIPPERS COUNCIL TOURS SAHCOL WAREHOUSE, EXPRESSES DELIGHT

In order to have a feel of the state-of-the-art facility being constructed by the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), members of the Nigerian Shippers Council tours the warehouse and was delighted with what is on ground. According to a statement from SAHCOL, ‘The efforts of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) to be the leading warehousing and ground handling operator in West African sub region has received a boost, as the Airfreight Stakeholders forum of the Nigerian Shippers  Council  paid a facility tour on the ground handling company.

The forum led by its Chairman, Toyin Olufade  was received  by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of  SAHCOL, Dr. Oluropo  Owolabi.

 The forum is made up of about 18 stakeholders among which are:  Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN),Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (NACCIMA), Association of Nigerian Licensed Custom Agent, (ANLCA),Nigerian Customs Services, (NCS), Airline Operators,  National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA);  went round the newly constructed ultra modern warehouse of the company located at the Cargo Terminal of the Murtala MuhammedInternational Airport, Lagos.’

Speaking on the forum’s visit, Olufade said the team was at SAHCOL to have a firsthand assessment of facilities on ground and to see how they could be explored to promote international trade in the country.

He equally said the visit would avail them the opportunity to market SAHCOL facilities to both importers and exporters within and outside the country.

Other members of the forum who spoke on their experiences during the tour expressed delights at the level of investment and facilities put in place by SAHCOL.

A member of the visiting team who wanted to know the ability of the warehouse to ensuring uninterrupted power supply for its facilities, was impressed when she was told that the company relies on three 500 KVA generators to power the equipment and facilities, notwithstanding the recent improvement the nation is witnessing in power supply nationwide.

 Some of the facilities toured included the Bulk-break area, Cold room sector, Freezers, Radioactive room; Human remain sector, Dangerous goods section, Valuable section, Custom examination section, Loading Bay and Unit Loading Device (ULD) storage.

Responding to the council’s statement, Dr. Owolabi who commended the team for its initiative to have firsthand information on the SAHCOL facilities for them to have adequate information on how to sell the company while promoting external trade for Nigeria called on Nigerians to invest in the packaging sector of the economy.

He said doing this would create a balance of trade between Nigeria and countries with which she has bilateral relations, since most airlines bringing imports to the country are usually ferried back empty.

“We need to package our products here for international trade. It is very unfortunate to see big cargo aircraft flying into Nigeria only to drop cargo without flying anything out of the country.

We don't necessarily need to depend on exports to European or American countries, but we could do it among countries in the West African region or the African continent.  We have millions of tones of yam tubers, mangoes pineapples, cashew nuts and other agro products that could be well packaged for exports to all these countries, instead of allowing them to rot away here.”

SAHCOL is poised to become a reference point where the efficiency of a successful flight operation is born. Hence, in addition to the completion of an ultramodern first-of-its-kind Custom Bonded Cargo Warehouse  at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, SAHCOL is committed to ensuring that ground handling to its customers is seamless.