The director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Musa Nuhu has said that aviation agencies are hamstrung to remove abandoned or retired aircraft from airports nationwide because there are litigations on them.
Recall that the house of representatives, had, on Thursday, December 16, 2021 directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and NCAA to remove abandoned and non-functional aircraft from all airports nationwide.
It also asked the agencies to impose substantial fines on the owners for non-compliance.
The resolution followed the consideration of a motion presented by Mr. Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro and 11 others.
“Large number of abandoned, non-functional aircrafts littering airports across the country, saying that it gives an impression that Nigeria is a dumping ground for old aero planes.
“Leaving such grounded aircraft within the airports constitutes safety hazards and could serve as a hideout for stowaways.
“The space occupied by the abandoned aircraft could generate revenue for the aviation agencies via parking fees and hangar maintenance,” Obanikoro said.
Speaking in an interview from Abuja, Nuhu said prior to the lawmakers’ pronouncement, the agencies made attempts to evacuate the jalopy equipment from the airports but they were constrained by litigations pending in courts.
“A lot of them (aircraft) have court cases and there is a kind of restriction on FAAN. So, it is a difficult situation, but we are having a meeting…to discuss this and see what we can do,” he said.
The director general stated that apart from congesting the ramps, the abandoned aircraft have security implications.
“There are so many implications for these aircraft; it is congesting the ramp and to me, it has safety implications. It can have security implication and it denies the growth of the industry.
“Unused aircraft are parked and taking space where new and serviceable aircraft can take. So, it’s a very grave concern. We discussed with FAAN even before the national assembly talked on it. Court cases can sometimes tie your hands because if you go and do something, the court will fine you contempt of court,” he added.
On the re-certification of Lagos and Abuja airports as well as the certification of Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu airport, Nuhu said the NCAA was waiting for the reports of the committee set up to look at the issues involved.
“For certification and recertification of airports, technical inspections took place last year to reconfirm the gaps there and action plans are being developed. Once they are developed and submitted to the NCAA, we will review them and those that are okay, we will go ahead with it and for those that are not okay, we will return them with comments and what is need to be done.
“Recertification of Lagos and Abuja airports is ongoing; a few issues we need to close, FAAN is working on them. Every two weeks, we do have high level meetings at the NCAA through the department of aerodrome and airspace. They meet and device a means of resolving the issues. Hopefully, we can get all our international airports certified before the audit,” he added.
