The nation\u2019s economy is losing a whooping N4.3billion annually to lack of 24hour operation by sunset airports across the country.<\/p>\n
Sunset airports are airports that do not have the infrastructure that enables flights to operate into the night.<\/p>\n
As a result, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) limited few that have the infrastructure to only daylight operation, meaning that flights cannot service such airports after 6:30 pm.<\/p>\n
Out of 22 airports managed by FAAN, only Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin City, Enugu, Kano, and Kaduna airports have airfield lightning to enable flights land and take off on or after 6.30pm, while others are referred to as \u2018Day Light\u2019 airports.<\/p>\n
The daylight airports are in Jos, Yola, Maiduguri, Anambra, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Ibadan, and Akure, with operational hours limit at 18.00 hours.<\/p>\n
However, speaking at the 26th League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) Conference themed: Sunset Airports: Economic and Safety Implications\u2019, the chief operating officer (COO), Ibom Air,
\nGeorge Uriesi, the Chief Operating Officer of Ibom Air said lack of 24 hours flight operations to major routes in Nigeria was impeding the growth of the airlines.<\/p>\n
According to him the country\u2019s carriers are losing an average of N4 million per flight, N12 million in every flight, N360 million in 90 flights and N4.3 billion annually on every flight lost to sunset airport operations.<\/p>\n
Uriesi while delivering his paper, \u2018Maximising Runway Utilisation: A Nigerian Airline Perspective,\u2019 further disclosed that restrictions of airlines to daytime operation has led to a huge underutilisation of aircraft fleets by the Nigerian airlines as against the global industry standards.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cThis is due partly because of too many impediments in the operating environment that limit airline productivity. These include limited runway availability across the domestic network, multiple operational infrastructure deficiencies, poor organisation and many others.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, to solve the challenge, Uriesi appealed to the government to prioritise airfield infrastructure and provide the necessary Instrument Landing System (ILS) and accompanying accessories for every airport, while also keeping the aerodromes open to meet the needs of airlines and other users.<\/p>\n
Besides, he advised that the government should make current, approved master plans a regulatory requirement for every airport and illegalize non-adherence to the master plans by any organisation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEstablishing a local aircraft lessor, financing vehicle that would allow for the domiciling of aircraft payments in local currency would make a huge difference to the air transport sector in Nigeria,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
On his part, the director, Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS) Prof. Anthony Kila, in his paper presentation, said that NCAA should encourage the airlines to succeed without the relegation of safety.<\/p>\n
In his paper presentation titled, \u2018Passenger Experience In Daylight Airports,\u2019 he stated that the aviation industry in the country was bedeviled with myriads of crises, stressing that high cost of flights and shutting down of airlines signified a bad omen for the country.<\/p>\n
Kila called for total rethink and resetting of aviation industry by all players in the sector.
\nKila also canvassed for the establishment of Bank of Aviation, which would make access to foreign exchange by airlines easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to act swiftly and decisively to deal with this situation so that this very bad situation we have at hand does not turn into an unmanageable disaster. Decisive actions in this case will require a total rethink and resetting of the way we conceive and manage our aviation manners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The nation\u2019s economy is losing a whooping N4.3billion annually to lack of 24hour operation by sunset airports across the country. Sunset airports are airports that do not have the infrastructure…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n