The newly-created directorates in the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) are meant to bring fresh ideas and innovations the country’s airport operations and managements.
The spokesperson for the agency, Mrs Obiageli Orah, stated this yesterday when she received the new executive members of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) led by its chairman, Mr Suleiman Idris in her office in Lagos.
She said FAAN had gone through tremendous changes with the upgrade of the former corporate affairs department into the directorate of public affairs and consumer protection, the creation of a special duty directorate and that of the cargo development and services among other changes all geared toward meeting global standard in the management of airports under FAAN.
She said the vision of the present administration as spelt out in the Renewed Hope Agenda is in sync with the ministry of aviation and aerospace development to create new directorates that will ensure that air travelers get the best services at all the airports in the country.
“We have added some new directorates to the existing ones; I will start with my directorate which is public affairs and consumer protection. It is relatively a new one because we had corporate affairs but now christened public affairs and consumer protection. We also added a directorate of cargo development and services which deals with everything regarding cargo and hajj operations. We now also have a special duty directorate, one I will describe as an interventionist directorate that helps the agency intervene in any situation as the case may be.
“Whether new or existing, every single director has the drive…every one of us has the drive to ensure that we give the best to Nigerians.
“The new directorates and the existing ones…are here to serve Nigerians and we are bringing a lot of innovations. We met a system in place and all we can do is to build on the system, and in building upon the system we met, changes may occur. We may modify some things but it is all in good faith in order to serve Nigerians and the travelling public better,” she said.
Orah further said the passengers deserve to get value for their money
“The passengers that pass through the airports deserve the best because they pay money. They pay taxes, buy tickets and pay taxes on those tickets and all that; so we feel and know that they deserve the best. So that is why security of all passengers is very important; the safety and comfort of all our passengers are paramount to our operations.
“We want Nigerians to be proud when they talk about FAAN; when they are passing through the airports, we want them to be proud of being citizens of this great country and the agency responsible for managing the airports on their behalf,” she added.
In his response, Idris pledged the support of the association in achieving the vision of the new administration to turn the fortunes of the country’s aviation industry around.
He affirmed that the League would continue to play the role of the media in upholding the leadership of the sector to account.
