Local, international exhibitors from airports, service providers and a host of other aviation-related businesses—showcasing a range of products, services and technologies aimed at making aviation business more efficient and passenger-friendly are set to arrive in the country as Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN hosts the 59th Airport Council International board and regional conference and exhibition from April 14-19th in Lagos.
Speaking during the Airport International Council, ACI press briefing and unveiling of the event logo at Raddisson Blu hotel, Ikeja with the theme: ‘Transformation for Sustainable Development of African Airports’, the managing director of FAAN, Engineer Saleh Dunoma disclosed that the safety reviews for Kaduna and Enugu will be carried out in May of this year.
Dunoma stated that last year, Nigeria signed the agreement to become one of the ACI global training centres, to further advance the goal of human capacity development in FAAN and in Africa.
He said the first training after the agreement was conducted in December 2017 where Nigeria received participants from other African countries.
Dunoma noted that over the years, ACI Africa had focused on safety as a priority leading to the initiation of the world wide acknowledged Airport Excellence (APEX) in safety programme.
FAAN boss observed that this has recorded great achievements as there has been a drastic decrease in the number of incidents and accidents in Africa.
He said in Nigeria, ACI has been of tremendous assistance in the certification process of the Lagos and Abuja airports through the APEX in safety programme which helped the agency to identify safety gaps in our aerodromes.
“In recognition of the role played by ACI and in FAAN’s bid to ensure safety in our airports, we have commenced the APEX in safety programme in other of our international Airports namely Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu and Kaduna airports.
I am pleased to announce that today is the inaugural day of the week-long APEX in safety review in Port Harcourt which will be closely followed by the APEX review in Kano, ” the MD said.
Dunoma added that the safety reviews for Kaduna and Enugu will be carried out in May of this year.
According to him: “FAAN is engaging a proactive means of mitigating risks and ensuring the overall safety of our passengers.
The next phase for the advancement of the Airport industry in Africa is the development into sustainable business entities hence the theme of the conference cannot be timelier. The theme of this conference is “Business Transformation for Sustainable Development of African Airports”.
He explained that Airports have the potential to be generators of economic growth, job creators and facilitators of international trade and tourism.
To ensure these roles and continue to reap the benefits, Dunoma emphasised that airports must ensure sustainable development that includes the enhancement of non-aeronautical revenues as a critical component of an airport’s revenue stream and bottom line.
In the words of Dunoma: “With less than 20percent of commercial revenue, airports in Africa must transform themselves from being not just public service providers but commercial enterprises that generate profits.
Over the years, African airports have been run mainly as government entities without the drive for profitable management. This has resulted in many airports being classified as non-viable and unable to meet their operational costs. This has posed a major problem in the efficient running of non-viable airports who are unable to cater for their maintenance and operational needs thereby leading to stakeholder and customer service dissatisfaction.
Customers are at the forefront of every viable business and ACI recognizes that, hence the introduction of the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme which is geared towards engaging airport customers to access service quality. FAAN knowing the importance of our customers has recently signed an agreement to participate in the ASQ Programme in Lagos and Abuja airports. We appreciate our customers and we want to ensure that we provide world class customer experience to all our passengers”.
He observed that the advent of Public Private Partnerships in Africa has caused a shift in the transformation of airports into sustainable business entities and Nigeria is not left behind.
Dunoma maintained that in recent years, Nigeria has engaged in the Public Private Partnership, PPP practice and has witnessed good success.
He said: “We are working tirelessly to ensure that our airports are viable and self-sustaining hence this is the perfect time for Nigeria to host this prestigious event.
The conference will highlight the importance of industry partners and public-private partnership for innovative project creation, leadership and strategic planning as tools to achieve these goals.
In line with the Presidential mandate on Ease of doing business in Nigeria, this conference will bring together professionals who will bring together their wealth of experience to come up with positions that will ensure the ease of doing airport business in Nigeria and Africa”.
He stated that Nigeria is also pleased to welcome the ICAO council president Dr Bernard Aliu alongside other key note speakers to the ACI Africa conference.
He outlined sessions to be held at the conference to include: Innovation in airport business, business innovation in Airport retail, the future of Airport tax free shops, the future of Airport charges and taxes, technology to support business transformation, transformation in practice; amongst others.
Dunoma said the conference will be preceded by meetings of the Board and Regional Committees meetings from 14 to 15 April 2018 and will be followed from 17 to 19 April 2018 by two simultaneous training seminars offered by the ACI Developing Nations Assistance (ACI/DNA).
