The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have reaffirmed that they have not raised their various fees for the airlines as some have stated.
Instead, the two Federal Government agencies asserted that they were not indifferent to the difficulties of airlines and other operators at the moment and that they would not raise taxes without consulting all interested parties.
The newly built terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, is also expected to receive relocation requests from an additional five airlines, bringing the facility's total number of operators to seven.
Capt. Musa Nuhi, the Director-General of NCAA, insisted that he had not authorised any increase in the organization's 5% Ticket Sales Charge/Cargo Sales Charge (TSC/CSC), speaking in Lagos on Monday during the tour of the newly inaugurated international terminal at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA).
Nuhu stressed that NCAA provides services to clients at reduced rates and described it as a cost recovery organisation rather than a revenue-generating agency.
He claimed that the agency would need to consult with all necessary parties within the business and outside of it before raising its fees.
He said: “As the DG NCAA, I am not aware (increase in levies) and I have not authorised any charge increase. Misinformation is creating a lot of problems. The truth of the matter is that the last time the NCAA increased its charges was 10 years ago. If we are charging N5,000, 10 years ago and we are still charging that, then you calculate the inflationary pressures. We are not recovering our costs. We are providing services and subsidising it.
“We understand the difficulties facing the industry now, but going forward, we have to sit down and review it because the NCAA does not get any money from the Federal Government. All our revenues are internally generated and we need this to provide the appropriate services for safety, security and efficient service delivery to the public. The NCAA can also not increase any charge without having a stakeholders’ consultation.”
Also speaking, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, the Managing Director, FAAN, declared that the agency had not increased its charges for international airlines since 2002, while in 2012 for the domestic operators.
FAAN is responsible for the collection of parking and landing charges from airlines.
Yadudu explained that the charges collected by FAAN were statutory, and could not be increased without the official consultation and involvement of all stakeholders.
“While it is true that the cost of aviation fuel has gone astronomically high and has adversely affected aviation worldwide, FAAN landing/parking charges have not been reviewed since 2002 for international flights, and 2012 for domestic flights.
“We are mindful of the challenges of our esteemed passengers and other airport users as a result of the increase in airfares, hence the need not to do so. However, the Federal Government and agencies within the aviation sector have intensified efforts to ensure that the challenges facing it are resolved,” he said.
Yadudu also dismissed the notion in some quarters that FAAN reneged on agreements reached with concessionaires, stressing that the agency had millions of agreements, which are respected by all and sundry.
He, however, agreed that the agency had issues with some of its concessionaires or clients, but insisted that was not enough to castigate the government or the agency.
“We may have problems with one or two, so it will be very unfair to define FAAN by just one or two agreements. Secondly, I do agreements, there may be disagreements and when this happens, issues can be resolved professionally.
“If anyone has an issue with an agreement with FAAN and you have to go to the media, then go to the media with facts. Don’t go with a slogan. Resolution means you go to court and come to FAAN. If you have to go with the media, then go with the facts, not the slogan,” he said.