Nigerian Flight Deck Travel and Business Reportage
INDUSTRY players have called for consistent, codified policy from government to ensure that airlines in the aviation sub sector survive as well as encourage investors to want to sink funds into the system.
Chief Executive Officer Topbrass Aviation limited, Captain Roland Iyayi and Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Manager of Dana Air, Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo made these known in separate submissions on Wednesday at the 23rd Annual Conference and Award ceremony organized by the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) with the theme, “Boosting Aviation Investment through Policy”.
During the Panel discussions of the Conference, Dana COO, Mr. Mbanuzuo said investors needed certainty to sink funds into the aviation sub sector, further stating that they needed to understand the thrust of government in terms of policy.
According to the Mbanuzuo, policy somersaults have been a major cog in the wheels of the industry’s growth and has also deterred investments as it makes investors wary especially when there is no clear cut direction.
Mbanuzuo talked about his time with Virgin Nigeria and how a change of government wrecked the airline causing investors to pull their funds.
” Someone comes in and puts a policy that might favour the industry and when he leaves another comes in and changes it all. Investors like certainty, people want to know what happens in two years time, in five years.
“Bringing in a new person should not mean the policy should change. Policies must be codified so no matter who comes in, he or she tows the path and continues instead of changing things around.
Speaking on same policy issues, Chief Executive of Top Brass Aviation, Captain Roland Iyayi posited during his side interview that to grow aviation there has to be a deliberate and consistent policy geared towards ensuring that the airlines who are the primary players in the industry can actually survive.
According to him, most things happening were reactive and that policies were meant to be proactive, predictive of situations with a view to address them when they arise.
He said,”Essentially what I said is that to grow aviation there has to be a deliberate and consistent policy geared towards ensuring that the airlines who are the primary players in the industry can actually survive.
“unfortunately like I said most of the things we do in the industry born out of knee jerk reactions. Something happens we react, rather than been proactive.
“When you put a policy framework in place, it is assumed to be proactive because you are looking at the issues and you are proffering solutions by way of articulating a chart of course that you want to chart, to say this is the part we are going to thread over the next X number of years to be able to see that we can grow a particular segment or segments of the industry an stay consistent with it.
“Not to say we have done it for few weeks and then say it is not aligning with what we want, so we change it. If you have inconsistencies you cab never see the benefit of any policy you put in place. And I think that is the major thrust of all I have said. We have had policies in the past, not that we not had, but we have never had them seen the light of day more or less,” Iyayi said.
He surmised that government and its parastatals must stay consistent, calling on same government to look at and focus on the issues, put a framework in place to address those issues, allow the industry enough air to breathe so it can grow.
