Chinedu Eze

Stakeholders have called for the improvement of the aviation industry through the initiation of implementable and efficient polices.

This was contained in the communique issued at the 28th Annual Conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) held in Lagos recently.

Stakeholders who spoke at the conference emphasised the need for support towards a five-point agenda of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, which includes safety, infrastructure enhancement, support for local operators, optimisation of revenue generation, and establishing Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities.

They highlighted the necessity of drafting laws that reflect the Cape Town Convention to ensure transparency in aircraft leasing, stressing the importance of a strong insurance policy given Nigeria's high-risk status and urged the federal government to discontinue the policy requiring 50 per cent of internally generated revenue from aviation agencies to be remitted to the federation account.

This, they said, would allow agencies like The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to reinvest in infrastructure and developmental projects.

The stakeholders also called for a balance between investing in new airports and improving road networks to support overall transportation infrastructure; identified hyperinflation and economic difficulties as major impediments to the aviation industry's survival and highlighted operational and regulatory challenges, including inefficiencies and policy flip-flops, that hinder industry growth.

They stressed the need for better time management and policy consistency, emphasizing the need for a central data system to provide accurate and harmonized data for the aviation industry and advocated for regulations that ensure safety and security without strangling the airlines.