Amidst the ongoing efforts to make the country’s airports safe and secure for air travellers and other airport users by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), key players have lamented how owners of abandoned aircraft are turning the airport, particularly the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, into cemeteries.
The issue of disused aircrafts littering the airports, which has been in the public domain for years, has become like a thorn in the flesh of FAAN and successive ministers who have made several efforts to persuade the owners of the abandoned airplanes to evacuate them.
Several efforts made by the ministers have been frustrated by the aircraft owners who used their statuses in the country to influence the judiciary to hoodwink FAAN.
Presently, there are over 80 aircraft of different models and sizes occupying spaces at different airports without any financial benefits to FAAN.
For a first time visitor to the Lagos Airport in particular, all that is needed to be done to behold many of such abandoned aircraft is to climb the over-bridge at Ikeja along where many of the aircraft have been taken over by weeds due to long years of abandonment by their owners.
The continuous abandonment of the aircraft has raised security concerns among airport users who are of the opinion that criminals and other undesirable elements may use the abandoned aircraft as decoy to unleash havoc on the airport.
In view of the recent moves by FAAN to reposition the airports for seamless operations, many key players are calling on the Federal Government to work with the judiciary to vacate the litigations slammed on the way of FAAN to get the aircraft to the grave yard in the ongoing quest to make the government policy of the ease of doing business achievable.
Speaking on the menace, an aviation security expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd), said: “In the last 30 years, there had been more than three directives to airlines that have ‘dead’ aircraft in Lagos airport to remove them, but unfortunately, instructions are given and are not complied with and if not complied with, who will enforce it or what are the consequences?
“One of the negative consequences is the congestion of the parking area, resulting most times to incidences of collisions between aircraft and between aircraft and ground handling services vehicles.
“The solution lies with the regulatory authority, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). First, what is the parking capacity approved for each of the aprons? Is it stated in the airport operating certificate? Is the airport complying with the approval? Are each of the aprons marked for the capacity approved to ensure that the area is not congested and to avoid collisions?”
“Secondly, all the airlines are expected to have operating bases to avoid the type of congestion in Lagos. But is the NCAA ensuring compliance? At a time, airlines like Kabo had its base in Kano. So are some others like Okada with base in Benin. But ADC that had approval for Calabar was operating from Lagos. Every airline today has its operating base in Lagos and that is why there is congestion for parking and when the aircraft becomes ‘wounded or dead,’ it could get buried there because there is no standard or procedures for the removal.
“These are the work of the NCAA in its periodic audits. These are very critical for the audits and the negligence of the periodic audits has brought about what we are seeing. The buck stops on the NCAA’s table.”
Another aviation security expert and Chief Executive Officer of Selective Security International Limited, Mr Ayo Obilana, recalled how many of the abandoned aircraft had previously been used as hideouts by miscreants to attack taxiing aircraft.
While commending the efforts of the Aviation Security (AVSEC) Directorate in FAAN to tackle the menace created by the abandoned planes, he, however, accused the Federal Government of failing to live up to expectations.
He said: “The issue of abandoned or discarded aircraft at Nigerian airports is an age long one, creating environmental hazards and other threats. Owner(s) of such aircraft are not only rich but powerful in the land and they care less about turning many of Nigeria aerodromes to aircraft cemeteries. Many of such aircraft were used as hideouts by miscreants in the past to attack taxiing aircraft and also commit unlawful acts against civil aviation. It has always been a huge problem which the FAAN AVSEC department has relentlessly been combating.
“Unfortunately government is said not to be listening to FAAN. Therefore, there is a limit to what FAAN can do with regards to unilateral removal or disposal of such ‘aircraft relics’ from the aerodromes, fearing litigations, which their owners might pursue against FAAN. Yes, they can be removed from the airside but with carefully mapped out strategies, which must include legal process, recycling and boarding.”
On his part, Director, Zenith Travels in Lagos, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, suggested that one of the less viable airports across the country can be turned to a graveyard where abandoned aircraft can be moved to.
According to Ohunayo: “I think the onus lies on FAAN to use its powers to create more space at the Lagos airport and keep a space as graveyard because at the moment, aircraft parked are having issues with space.
“I think there is the need to create more space and on the issue of abandoned aircraft, nearly all of them are under litigations from the owners, hence very difficult for FAAN to touch so FAAN needs to look at how they can settle the issues of litigations with the litigants to get their space back for others to use.
“People cannot continue to tie the hands of FAAN while FAAN is unable to give quality services to airline operators who need space and who will also pay for it, not free, and we have disused aircraft littering the place.
“When you climb the Ikeja bridge, the first thing you will see are these disused aircraft which have become an embarrassment to the sector. It is either FAAN agrees to create a space for them outside the Lagos airport where these aircraft will be parked and safe us from litigations. May be we work on the cost of moving them away from Lagos airport to probably the ones at Ibadan airport or other airports that have little or no services rather than having these aircraft constituting nuisance and also causing impediments to other operational aircraft and space constraints at the Lagos airport.
“I think FAAN needs to get good lawyers to look at the books, look into the litigations and call the owners of the aircraft to move the aircraft. If Okada can move its own to Benin why can’t some others move their own outside Lagos airport to create space?
“In other climes, spaces are created, called graveyards, where aircraft are parked for many years. So, if three out of the 21 airports are viable, then we should look at what we can do with the other 18 airports and we can use one of them for parking abandoned aircraft.”
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