FAAN tackles challenges in aviation upgrade

After facing various backlashes from industry stakeholders, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria said it won’t rest until it cuts all shackles hindering the Nigerian aviation industry from operating at the same level as tier-one nations across the globe, writes OLASUNKANMI AKINLOTAN

In recent times, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria has faced backlashes from both passengers and stakeholders in the aviation sector. These point to core issues fuelling doubts in the international communities about the country’s adherence to safety protocols.

By global standards, safety is the centre of any successful aviation industry, and whenever the ball is dropped in any of the industry’s operational parts, experts believe safety has been threatened.

Stakeholders at various fora have echoed passengers’ pains and safety concerns hinged on various grounds, particularly harassment, touting, and extortions at the Nigerian airports.

Different incidents underscore unruly behaviours within the airport terminal, particularly by security officers, airport officials, and ground handling staff members.

This prompted stakeholders’ call for the removal of manual search desks of the Nigeria Customs Service, which resonated across the industry.

This call ensured some decorum at different points, but the adamant Customs checking officers returned to their position, as the disagreement between FAAN and Customs continued to linger.

This animosity culminated in a physical fight and near near-exchange of bullets between the anti-smuggling agency and officers of the Aviation Security.

The superiority battle played out between officers of the NCS and the Director of Aviation Security at FAAN, Igbafe Afegbai, during an attempt to replace a scanning machine at a cargo section of the airport.

Afegbai told The PUNCH that he, alongside some senior staff members at FAAN, had gone to the rancorous scene to replace a faulty security machine that was taken from Enugu airport on a temporary basis to the Lagos airport.

He said the customs insisted that the machine was an illegal item meant for export.

But workers at the airport believed that the disagreement was a fallout of the superiority contest between FAAN and Customs.

To show their displeasure for the “disrespect” toward the FAAN boss, aviation workers issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to remove the Area Controller of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Pilgrims and Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The workers also called on President Bola Tinubu to redeploy all Customs officers involved in assaulting the FAAN director.