Wole Shadare 
T
he Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, has declared that the restart report for airlines and aviation industry will be submitted to the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 by tomorrow.
Nuhu appealed to stakeholders that the sector is pretty close to a restart with plans to announcing a new date for resumption.
His words: “We are yet to get there, but we are pretty close. The plan is that by Wednesday, we will submit our report to PTF. I reiterate, we are pretty close.
“If the airports get it right, the airlines’ job will be made easier. The airlines that have disinfected their aircraft should show proof to NCAA. On the middle seats, we need to listen to the health authority, even though I do not support the middle seat regime. We are liaising with the health authority to get the best for the airlines.”
The NCAA DG said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is carrying bulk of the pressure, admitting that a lot of drastic efforts were being made to meet up with its responsibilities.
Nuhu lamented that the pandemic has put the aviation regulatory body in precarious situation, disclosing that the authority’s revenue is down by 90 per cent.
“Our revenue is down by 90 to 95 per cent. We are almost ready. Like I said earlier, not all the airlines and airports have to be necessarily ready before the restart,” he said.
The Chairman of the NCAA COVID-19 Committee, Godwin Balang, gave the level readiness by components of the industry such as airlines, air navigation provider, ground handlers and meteorologists and others.
According to him, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is 80 per cent ready; airlines (domestic) are 70 per cent ready; NIMET is also ready and domestic airports at 57 per cent.
The chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison, demanded a restart date so that the carriers could put their house in order.
Managing Director FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, said the preparedness of the airports bother mostly on safety and security.
