By Niyi Odunlami, Ph.D (Cambridge)
One or two airlines which, in utter defiance of the Federal Government, have continued to operate domestic flights from Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos have been circulating information to the effect that Murtala Mohammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2) is deficient in some technical areas. They cite a controversial report linked to the International Aviation Transportation Association (IATA), which carried out a technical audit of the international airport last November. The head of the technical mission has since left IATA on account of the report.
Commissioned last April, MMA2 is a perfect example of Public Private Partnership and of what committed Nigerians in the private sector could accomplish in their own country at a time the political authorities are challenged by paucity of funds in the face of severe competing demands. MMA2 was concessioned in 2002 in the wake of the fire which destroyed the old terminal at the domestic wing of the airport in Ikeja. Built in record time with part of the funds provided by a consortium of six Nigerian banks, this terminal is not just technically solid but built to contemporary global standards.
The IATA technical mission which came from South Africa confused the terminal with that of the international airport, probably on account of its imposing design and excellent construction. But, first, what is IATA? It is simply only an association of airlines. It is not in, any way, the international watchdog on safety, as a particular airline with an invested interest claimed in a recent newspaper advert. The world’s aviation watchdog is the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), of which the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) is the local agent in the country. To be sure, IATA, in the interest of its member airlines, does inspect and issue reports on airports globally, but these reports are, at best, advisory. An IATA technical mission was in Nigeria on November 7 & 8, 2007. But its mandate was to evaluate the state of only Murtala Mohammed International Airport–and MMA2 is not part of the international airport.
Indeed, in its request to the relevant agencies of the Nigerian government, IATA had specifically asked to visit Nigeria as a follow-up to the earlier one undertaken in August, 2005, to both Murtala Mohammed International Airport and Port Harcourt International Airport. The visit of November 2007 was, according to IATA, to observe the level of progress of work since it issued the report of its visit of 2005. The technical mission did not go to Port Harcourt during the November 2007 visit because the airport was then not in operation.
The itinerary of the IATA mission, as suggested to the Nigerian government by IATA itself, was solely based on inspecting the following specific issues:
Runway lighting, marking and signage systems, pavement.
Taxiway lighting, marking and signage systems, pavement.
Navigational aids
Precision approach lighting system
Apron lighting, marking and signage systems, pavement and apron management
Airfield power supply system
Rescue and fire fighting
Bird hazard control
Perimeter security
AIP
FPL
NOTAMS
Weather observations Instruments
TAF availability
Wind sucks
Excess provisions (weather radars, satellite weather pictures)
AFTN
ATS / DS
AMS
Navigational Aids
ATS units, ATS Routes
TWR
Approach
Radar
Civil-military coordination
Special use of airspace
It is noteworthy that the mission of 2005 stated its reservations on some of the issues serious issues but did not declare Murtala Muhammed International Airport unsafe!
For purposes of clarity, it should be pointed out again that MMA2, as a terminal, is not a part of Murtala Mohammed International Airport. Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal2 does not have a taxiway, a runway, a weather station, etc, and the operators have nothing to do with issues relating to runways, navigation and navigation equipment, weather observation, airside security, perimeter fencing, fire fighting etc., which were the main issues of IATA’s mission as shown above. By 2005 when the IATA technical mission carried out the inspection of the two international airports already mentioned, the precursor for the November 2007 mission, MMA2 was still under construction. In other words, there was no way the IATA team could have assessed it as part of a follow up visit.
On Wednesday, February 20, 2008, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr Harold Demuren, who is the last voice on aviation security in Nigeria, stated categorically before the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation that the IATA technical mission did not inspect MMA2 last November. He should know since an IATA mission would not come to inspect a Nigerian airport without his concurrence, all the more so since an IATA mission must be accompanied by his officers. Dr Demuren also told the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation that the IATA Regional Manager that led the IATA mission of November 2007 to Murtala Muhammed International Airport has resigned from IATA on account of his fictitious report on aviation safety in Nigeria. The team merely lifted verbatim a subjective and internal memo within Virgin Nigeria.
The indigenous aviation industry will be ready to see ICAO and any other credible aviation watchdog carry out a technical audit of MMA2 anytime it wishes to do so. If IATA likes to revamp its image hurt by the unwholesome lifting of an iternal Virgin Nigeria memo, it is also welcome. An airport terminal is an open facility. There is nothing to hide.
Most airlines have for the past six months been operating from MMA2 without problems. That in itself should provide an insight into whether MMA2 is safe or not. This terminal is the most advanced and sophisticated in the country, far beter than what obtains elsewhere where the obdurate airlines fly to without raising a safety alarm.
The new terminal building in Murtala Muhammed Airport can process over five million passengers per annum, far in excess of the current volume. There are over 30 check-in counters and a huge and airy check-in, departure and arrival areas. The limit of the apron area of MMA2 in terms of space is understandable and was addressed a long time ago. By 2002 when the MMA 2 concession was made to Bi-Courtney domestic passenger volume for the Lagos airport was in the region of 1.6 million per annum. Neither Arik nor Virgin Nigeria existed then while the main players operated an average fleet of 3 or 4 aircraft. In cognizance of the fact that times have changed, Bi-Courtney had, long before the MMA2 was completed, successfully sought the permission of the Federal Ministry of Transportation to use the Apron area of the General Aviation Terminal to supplement the MMA2 apron. The MMA2 operator has also acquired the biggest Cobus buses available , with four delivered over 6 months ago. Cobus buses are specialised buses which transport passengers from the terminal to the tarmac.
The insistence of erring airlines on remaining at Murtala Mohammed International Airport by all means clearly rests on purely individual commercial considerations, which are at variance with strategic national interest. These carriers do not subscribe to the principle of a level-playing ground for all domestic airline operators because they consider themselves a breed apart. There is no compelling reason to regard the airlines as special without doing stupendous violence to the principles of fairness, justice and equity.
The Federal Government, the Ministry of Aviation, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Airline Operators Association of Nigeria, the media and the Nigerian public should be commended for standing for the truth in the face of an unconscionable and coordinated propaganda blitz against MMA2, a quintessence of Public-Private Partnership. The stance of the government and the relevant publics goes a long way to rekindle confidence in the Nigerian possibility.
Dr Odunlami, Ph.D (Cambridge), a fomer World Bank official in Washington DC, is executive is a company executive in Lagos. +234805 586 7200
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