Points of View

JOHN O OJIKUTU THE NCAA press conference of Monday January 30, 2017 was unlike anything before it in over 10 years since the agency was established. The conference seems to be an attempt by the agency to bring to the public knowledge the earnings, not the spending of the airlines operators. It could be an effort made to assuage the …

JAMES DUROJAIYE                                                                                                                                       SULEIMAN (not real name) has always nursed his childhood dream of becoming an airline pilot. One day, the opportunity came in when the government announced the Niger delta amnesty program for militants and as part of the program the federal government will sponsor some of the ex-militants to become pilots. Suleiman was one of those selected by the …

FOLLOWING the decision and determination by the Federal Government to proceed with the closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja to flight operations for a period of Six (6) weeks from March 8 to April 19, 2017 so as to conduct emergency repairs on the runway, Aviation Round Table (ART) is hereby compelled to take a holistic assessment of …

THE recent debate that has mired the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Runway in controversy with professionals and experts taking either side of the divide on where air traffic be diverted to has left the layman wondering. The recent conclusion of the stakeholders forum in Abuja saw government force its decision down the throat of everyone with …

CAPT DELE ORE SPEAKING during a media briefing in Lagos, on Monday, November 9, I stressed the need for a stronger leadership in NCAA and that the industry needs very strong regulatory authority, which is lacking in the current director general, Captain Murtar Usman who was spared in the latest sack of the aviation agencies heads. I observed that If …

By Steve Omolale MURTALA Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Lagos, is a phenomenal project providing critical services to the aviation sector for which its operator – Bi-Courtney Aviation Services limited (BASL) – has either been on the receiving end of some criticisms or much accolades in almost a decade. The few criticisms notwithstanding, with sheer determination, BASL has continued to …

THE attention of the management of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2) under a concession agreement, has been drawn to a story published in the Daily Times of December 28, 2016, page B8, with the headline, ‘Recession: Concessionaires flee MMA2’. The motive for writing such a report, at this time when the …

ON December 20, 2016 three of the major unions in the aviation industry embarked on a strike against Arik Air for issues involving and not limited to  non-payment of 7 months salaries, non-remittance of taxes and pension and stagnation of workforce since the airline began operations 10 years ago, this sad strike crippled the airline’s activities for a day, costing …

AS the foreign exchange crisis bites harder, many businesses in the real sector have either been forced to close shop or are pruning down on all cost centres just to stay afloat. With the recent forecasts not holding out much hope of an early exit from the recession, barely staying afloat is no guarantee of survival. Not even government agencies …

WITH its ongoing campaign to concession four of its airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, the Federal Government has, once again, successfully brought to the consciousness of Nigerians an issue many of them, including the elite, have little or no knowledge about. The sing-song about concession, which many believe rather erroneously to be synonymous with contract, is loudest …