Executive Interviews

Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, airline owner, businessmen, politician and fearless technocrat in his interview with NigerianFLIGHTDECK has looked at pressing issues that need review. He talked about the state weather minima which he says is inimical to pilots as well as low ratio of technical staff to others at the NCAA. He equally talked about the planned National Civil Aviation Policy …

Mr. Bankole Bernard, is the Group Managing Director, Finchglow Holdings and founder, Lagos Aviation Academy (LAA). The foremost travel agent and owner of one of the most lucrative Business Travel Management ( BTM) firms in this interview with journalists speaks on a sundry of issues in the Nigerian aviation sector, providing perspectives to some teething challenges. Emirates and trapped fund …

Since I came onboard, I have successfully dealt with three cases with Cape Town Conviction. There was an airline that took some engines and they don't want to return them, we fought for it. There was a helicopter that was seized, we fought for it and they released it. There was an aircraft that we let go. If we don't do that people don't feel safe allowing their equipment into your country, even if you are doing, you pay excess and you pay a premium on the ongoing market rate and whatever profit you think you are going to make is wiped off.

Captain Ibrahim Mshelia  (MRAeS) is the Chairman West Link Airlines and the owner of Mish Aviation, foremost privately owned aviation training school located in Ghana. In this interview with reporters , Mshelia a renowned pilot and instructor shed more light on certain topical issues within the aviation industry as well as his personal take on regulation of airlines in the …

Current Director general of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu in his recent interview with the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) spoke on issues in the aviation sector as well as his functions as Nigeria’s ICAO Representative for over three years and the influence of Dr. Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu on him. He spoke on industry …

I have a very humble background. Growing up wasn’t a silver spoon. I used to hawk when I finished from school. So, you can imagine that kind of growing up as a child. But, one thing that I can say has really helped me is the way my mother handled us while growing up. It’s about what next. She’s doing a task and you are there watching as a child, she wants you to think ahead and do the next thing.  My mother didn’t have any patient for mediocrity. She will beat the hell out of you. She was a strong disciplinarian. So, that forced me to always be thinking of what next.

Do you know anytime we talk about destinations in Nigeria, there is this fallacy of insecurity that we all fine up with from time to time? Tourism challenges is not insecurity do not be deceived. Let there be accessibility to those places of attraction. If you get to Olumo Rock today you find out there's no 'wifi' so if I get here I can use my phone to take shots and send it to everyone around the world and promote it. I won't have amenities like food companies around the Rock that I can eat so I spend a lot of time there. I wouldn't have public toilet that is clean that can be used by everyone and you expect tourists to visit a place like that, common these are the things that are necessary for any  tourist attraction to endear people to it.

We are also going on culture transformation process with all our people who are the most important resource that we have. I am proud to say that within NAHCO, we have a lot of people who are extremely dedicated and focused on their job. We have commendations from all our clients on the behaviour of our staff. I am very proud of the NAHCO team and we are doing more to ensure that we can get better from them because we know that without them, this journey cannot be fulfilled.

We need a national carrier; having a national carrier is something that is highly necessary for a country, but how we go about it is what that matters most. There are several ways to handle a national carrier. It is not sufficient enough for us to criticize a policy, it is our responsibility to proffer solutions.Our tourism sector will not grow and our image will not be properly laundered if we don’t have a national carrier.

Sometimes, when you start with the new students, the multi-engine aircraft is actually parked and not doing anything until the students reach that time where they can now start multi-engine training. During that period, we use that for our instructors to maintain their proficiency. We encourage them to fly such aircraft.