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14 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2022
PWDs seek inclusive environments, services at airpor
ports nationwide
A
coalition of Disability
Organisation, has called on
the Federal Government to step up
efforts in providing an inclusive and
accessible environments and
services for People with Disabilities
(PWDs) at airports across the
country.
The Convener, Mr David
Anyaele, made the appeal at a
public presentation on Enhancing
Access to Airports for PWDs in
Lagos.
"People with Disabilities
experience a lot of hardship in the
country and the difficulty in
travelling through the airport isn't
easy at all because there are no
basic amenities for us there.
"We are treated harshly by airport
staff because of our disabilities, so
special training should be
organised for airport and airline
personnel on the needs of PWDs
and how best to meet them.
"In other countries, there are
wheelchair elevators that convey us
to the aircraft and back, but in this
country, there is none like that, as
even the bus that would carry you
to the point of entry of the aircraft is
not user-friendly in all ramifications.
"The government needs to
address this urgently because there
are so many difficulties we
experience in the airport and it
shouldn't be so," he said.
The convener said that travel
information at airports should be
provided in accessible formats for
various categories of PWDs.
"The airport authorities need to
go beyond the use of public address
systems for announcements which
persons with auditory impairment
may not be able to decode.
"There should also be provision
for inclusion of information at
booking points so as to indicate their
status and special needs, for airport
officials to make necessary
arrangements to meet their needs,"
he said.
Ibrahim Jafar, Assistant General
Manager, Directorate of Consumer
Protection, Nigeria Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA), noted that
appropriate authorities were
working on ensuring that amenities
for PWDs are provided.
National carrier: Confusion over commencement
as FG, experts clash
•Sirika blows hot
Stories by Prince Okafor
AHEAD of the planned
takeoff of a new national
carrier, Nigeria Air, there is
confusion over the possibility of
the commencement period as
experts have expressed doubts
over its feasibility.
This is as the Federal
Government said the airline
would commence operations
before the end of the year.
But experts doubted the plan,
saying the modalities for the
new national carrier were yet to
be spelt out.
Reacting to the development,
a former Minister of Aviation,
Air Vice Marshal Anthony
Okpere (retd), lamented that
Nigerians along with
stakeholders in the sector are
yet to know the details of the
new national carrier project.
He noted that the current
Minister of Aviation Sen. Hadi
Sirika has not been carrying
aviation stakeholders along in
his bid to launch another
national carrier for the country.
Okpere was also the
Managing Director of Nigeria
Airways between 1984 and 1986
said: "Most stakeholders are
kept in the dark about the
Nigeria Air project and its
partnership with Ethiopian
Airlines.
"Why is Sirika so hasty to
establish a new national carrier
for the country after seven years
of failed efforts, even as the
current administration winds
up in the next six months?
"The details of the new
national carrier project are not
known. Meanwhile, this
administration winds up
immediately after the general
elections. What is the guarantee
that the people coming in will
continue? Has the country been
carried along?
"Who are we partnering with?
What are the terms of the
agreement with Ethiopian
Airlines? People need to know.
So, when the administration
winds up, who knows what?
Okpere reiterated that
Nigeria Airways should never
have been liquidated.
He lamented that when the
airline was liquidated by the
government, no staff was paid
severance packages. And this
led to the untimely death of
some of them.
But he commended President
Muhammadu Buhari for later
paying the severance packages
of the former workers. He also
maintained that Nigeria needs
a national carrier, although the
process of establishing one
must be transparent.
"I think it is commendable.
We were very sad indeed when
we lost Nigeria Airways, but
now that it is being proposed to
set up a new airline, I think it
is one of the best things to
happen to the industry.
"Most countries in Africa have
national carriers and I think it
is about time that Nigeria, the
biggest country in Africa,
should, of course, take lead in
the comity of nations. Nigeria
will be better for it and I am
looking forward to it. Now in
floating a new airline, I don't
know the politics behind it, I
don't know the consultation
they made."
Also, the Chief Executive
Officer of Azikel Air, Dr Eruani
Azibapu, has cautioned the
Minister to partner Aviation
giants across the world in order
to stay afloat.
He said: "You know, the
aviation industry is a very
•Nigeria Air
sophisticated industry with
several levels of endeavours in
making it a success. Nigeria,
indeed, needs a carrier.
"Nigeria cannot operate a
sustainable carrier without the
right partnership. So, securing
partnerships is very important
and securing the right
partnership is the way to go,
and securing it with people that
have already made success.
"You cannot be in isolation in
operating or participating in the
aviation industry, particularly in
Africa. There is no part of the
airplane that is produced in
Africa.
"So, you need the right
training, the right people, the
right environment, the right
organisations, so I believe very
strongly that Nigeria can make
a great success, particularly if
we stand with others that have
proven success. So, the right
way to go is not for us to stand
alone in the ocean, we are
going to fail.
"By the way, the technology
is not made by us. It is foreign.
So, we cannot say we want to
do this all alone. It's not
possible. You need those parties
that can build this together.
No rational court can stop
Nigeria Air - Sirika
Meanwhile, the Sirika in a
meeting in Lagos, noted that no
rational court in the country can
stop Nigeria Air from fying.
He said "I cannot see any
rational court that will say that
I am stopping somebody from
establishing a company
because Nigeria Air is a limited
liability company known to the
Nigerian laws in the corporate
affairs commission.
"If anybody wants to come and
invest in that company, there is no
law in Nigeria that stops him from
doing so. If there are foreigners
coming to invest, nobody stops
them from investing. You can own
a company 100 per cent. What
would you say to Shell, Unilever,
and Julius Berger? There are
companies in Nigeria registered
by Nigerian law and people are
coming to invest. This is what we
want. We want Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI). If people or
Nigerians are investing in the
airline with over $200 million in
Nigeria and so what. We want
more of them".
He took a swipe at people whom
he said claimed that they were not
carried along in the floating of the
carrier, asking how come they
knew about the carrier if they
claimed that they were not carried
along.
Sirika disclosed that when the
airline was still in its embryonic
stages, he reached out to Air Peace
chairman, Mr. Allen Onyema,
Azman Chairman, Abdulmunaf
Yunusa Sarina, and others to invest
Kenya Airways to start non-stop
flights to Dubai
KENYA'S national carrier,
Kenya Airways has concluded
plans to start non-stop flights from its
coastal city, Mombasa to Dubai on
December 15th, 2022.
The airline noted that the introduction
of the route was in response to demand
from the market and is expected to boost
the Kenyan coastal region tourism
industry through direct access to and
from the Middle East.
Kenya Airways would operate a
Boeing 737-800 four times a week,
The Dubai-Mombasa route,
according to the airline management
would give tourists from the Middle
East, Russia, Northern Europe, and
Grounded
in the new airline but was rebuffed
by the airline owners, stressing
some of them later accused him of
not making the request verbal.
"I heard that the airline owners
said that they were not carried
along. If you were there at the
National Assembly, I told them
where I met them like the Max Air,
Azman, Air Peace, Ibom,
everybody where I met them and
told them to please come and
partner in this airline and own it,
telling them that it is meant for the
private sector. I told Air Peace to
come and invest in this one and
one of them said to me that I should
make it formal.
"I said to him that I met you in
your own place, met with you and
invited you and told him that I
have put it in all places as adverts.
I also put it in the Economist, on
television, and also put it on the
website.
How formal can that be? I always
beg them to say all you stakeholders
are invited to be owners of the
airline as private sector people.
Nobody will say he was not
invited."
Australia direct access to the wonders
of coast region tourism and hospitality
industry.
The Mombasa-Dubai route is
expected to attract travellers to the
Middle East for holiday or religious
trips. The region's traders of electronics,
clothes and other consumer goods will
also benefit from the belly cargo capacity
that will be available on the flight.
According to Kenya Airways Chief
Commercial and Customer Officer
Julius Thairu said, "The introduction of
this route is key and strategic as it will
open up the Kenya coastal region, boost
the tourism and hospitality industry as
well as stimulate trade to the coastal
city.
How Chanchangi 40% control of Nigeria's aviation
crumbled
E
Taraba state, Nigeria.
XACTLY 10 years ago, The airline was established on
Nigeria lost one of its major 5 January 1994 by Alhaji
carrier, Chanchangi Airlines Chanchangi and started flight
Nigeria Limited, over financial operations to and from Kaduna,
constrain.
Lagos, Owerri, Abuja and Port
The privately owned and Harcourt on 2 May 1997. Services
operated airline with its head were operated using Boeing 727-
office in the Chanchangi Office 200 aircraft; 3 Boeing 737-200
Complex in Kaduna, Nigeria, was aircraft and 2 Boeing 737-300
established on 5 January 1994 by aircraft were also acquired in 2009.
Alhaji Chanchangi and started Chanchangi Airlines won the
flight operations to and from Federal Airports Authority of
Kaduna, Lagos, Owerri, Abuja Nigeria (FAAN) and the
and Port Harcourt on 2 May 1997. Corporate Merit Award for "Best
Its main base was Murtala Domestic Airline of the Year" for
Mohammed International Airport, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
Lagos, with hubs at Kaduna, In 2004 it obtained route
Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Alhaji authorities for services to Abidjan,
Ahmadu Chanchangi, its founder, Accra, Dakar, Douala and Malabo.
hails from Chanchangi village in On 26 March 2006 services from
Takum Local Government of Lagos to Accra were introduced.