Airports may not be certified despite N150bn remodeling

Notwithstanding the huge sums of money expended on the remodelling of the nation’s 22 airports, feelers are that none of them has met the minimum standard for certification by the regulator, UDEME EKWERE writes

The over N150bn spent on airport remodelling in the last three years has failed to secure certification for the nation’s airports, investigation by our correspondent has revealed.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the industry regulator, had five years ago given the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria a checklist of requirements each of the 22 airports must meet before they could be certified.

The certification is expected to be in line with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Authority, the United Nations agency that regulates the aviation industry globally.

Spirited efforts made by FAAN to meet the NCAA requirements have, however, been to no avail.

The hope that FAAN would meet the certification criteria had been raised when the immediate Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, embarked on the multibillion naira remodelling of the airports about three years ago.

It was believed that at the conclusion of the projects, the airports would have met the conditions set by the NCAA.

But top officials of the Ministry of Aviation and the NCAA told our correspondent that the over N150bn spent on remodelling the airports did not in any way prepare them for certification by the regulator.

This, the sources revealed, was because the remodelling focused more on beautifying the airports rather than building infrastructure and installing equipment that would boost air safety.

A top official, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, explained, “The remodelling project has not in any way moved us forward from where we were before its commencement. The remodelling only focused on building terminal buildings. Air safety, as far as airports are concerned, goes beyond all that.

“Air safety issues that will qualify our airports for certification border on things like building perimeter fencing that will stop cases of stowaway; installing modern landing equipment; buying more fire tenders; and installing airport lightings.

“This was why some people criticised the former minister when she spent the Bilateral Air Services Agreement money, which was meant for safety-critical equipment, along with other funds for the remodelling project.”

It was learnt that the NCAA had not certified any of the airports in the country since 2006 when the law that gave it autonomy in line with international regulations was promulgated.

A source close to the agency told our correspondent that none of the airports in the country had been certified before the NCAA was granted autonomy.

The essence of the airport certification is to ascertain if there are enough personnel and equipment that can guarantee safety and security in the facilities.

The President, Aviation Roundtable, Capt. Dele Ore, said the nation’s airports were not duly certified owing to the fact that the remodelling did not concentrate on critical issues of aviation safety.

He said most of the projects were lofty but cosmetic in nature, adding that they did not address the major characteristics that a certified airport should have.

Ore said, “I can tell you that the remodelling did not take cognisance of safety-related items; they have largely been concentrating on cosmetic and beautification aspect, and this is not what aviation is about. The remodelling we are talking about has not taken care of the airlines and the airports themselves are not fit for use; so, how then can we expect them to be certified?

“I think what is critical at this period is for the government to do more to ensure that aviation n this country meets international standards so that we can get the certification we have been struggling to get in the last few years.”

He explained that issues of training, adequate equipment and infrastructure, and the survival of the equipment in cases of accidents were the critical areas that should be examined before an airport would be certified.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Centurion Aviation Safety and Security Consult, Mr. John Ojikutu, said the certification of airports was beyond the beauty of the terminals but had a lot to do with aviation safety and security, adding that these were the critical issues that should be at the forefront.

He said, “The fact remains that anybody can build a terminal, because the terminal building is just like a shopping mall; but the real issues regarding certification go beyond all that.

“For instance, adequate training of the personnel manning critical aspects of the airport like those in access control, has this been done? What about the various scanners that should be in the airport, do we have them? How many of them have the NCAA licensed? The screening machines, how many are operating well? The fire-fighters, how many of them are truly trained? Are the equipment available and enough?

“Going further, we begin to talk about security and perimeter fencing; are the ones we have in our airports up to international standards? All these and more are issues that get airports certified, and you and I know that all these things are not there in our airports.”

Ojikutu noted that the runway at the Abuja airport was dilapidated, adding that for so many years, there had been plans to repair it, but such had yet to materialise.

“So, how can such an airport be certified?” he asked.

The spokesperson for the NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, told our correspondent that the agency was working in partnership with FAAN to ensure that the airports were certified soon.

He said, “It is ultimately the NCAA that will certify the airports on behalf of ICAO, and the checklist and manual that will be used come from ICAO. For now, we have not certified any yet, because it is a process. We have told FAAN what we want and have given it a checklist for the certification.

“Right now, FAAN is in the process of making the Lagos and Abuja airports ready. It is already working on the things that will make the airports certified, and when it is ready, it will let the NCAA know, and we will then take the next step.”