Tanko Mohammed
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has revealed that it incurred over 40 per cent revenue loss from December 2019 to November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NCAA Director General, Capt. Musa Nuhu made this known in a statement issued in Lagos.
Nuhu told the Senate Committee on Aviation that despite the loss, it had increased its statutory payment to the consolidated account by 100 per cent, in spite of not doing debt recovery from the airlines.
“One of our main challenges of the COVID-19 is the loss of revenue, from December 2019 to November 2020; we have had about approximately 40 per cent drop in revenue.
“This is because flights were not coming in which is a significant part of our income as the five per cent Ticket Sales and Cargo Sales Charges had stopped.
“Yet, out of this revenue; we are required to pay 25 per cent to the consolidated account which now we have been told is 50 per cent.
“Regrettably, we are not doing cost recovery; and we are actually operating at a loss.
“Let me give you an example, in Nigeria to get an Air Operating Certificate (AOC) which is a licensing for running airline is N200, 000 that is $500.
“However, in Gambia it is $200,000 when we charge $500 dollars which cannot pay the cost of an inspector to buy tickets and go for his or her mandatory training.
“So we are in a very tight situation and tight corner and things are not easy.
“We need help from the National Assembly, we are doing our best but the numbers don’t add up.”
Nuhu told the committee that due to activities of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, it would still remain the regional hub in Nigeria and movement to Abuja helps decentralised the agencies activities.
He said it would be cost effective with the creation of multiple regional offices across the country, adding that it would save air ticket, agency time and provide equal services everywhere not just concentrate on Lagos and Abuja.
According to him, aviation activities in each regional office will involve number of staff and the kind of tools and equipment they will need.
The director general explained that the whole idea was for each regional office to have adequate staff, tools and offices to effectively deal with all field activities which includes mostly surveillance and enforcement.
“So obviously by that formula, Lagos is the main hub in Nigeria and certainly Lagos will take a significant percentage, over 50 per cent of the resources.
“I am saying that but the committee will come up with it, but the point is that Lagos will take the significant part of the resources because this is where the hub of the aviation industry.
“So when we say we are moving to Abuja, it is not like we are carrying our entire workforce to Abuja,” he said.
Nuhu said with the increasing developments of airports across the country, when the new airlines start coming; there is the possibility of establishing additional regional offices.
According to him, this is to ensure that it cover the whole country effectively and maintain the same level of standard all over the country.
