The Senate Committee on Aviation yesterday suspended new fees charged by
the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) on private jet owners engaged in
non-scheduled operations in Nigeria.
The Senator Hope Uzodinma-led committee directed NAMA and private jet owners to convene a “stakeholders’ meeting” to arrive at a “consensus” charge in line with the Civil Aviation Act of 2006.
By the directive, NAMA is to revert to the status quo ante. No date was fixed for the aviation stakeholders’ meeting.
These were fallouts of the tripartite mediation meeting convened by the Senate panel over the contentious $3000 and $2500 respectively charged by NAMA on private jets registered abroad and locally.
The suspended fees were prior paid by private jets for every departure (except round trips without changes in passenger manifest or return ferry) and were paid in advance to NAMA.
A representative of the affected airlines, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, at the Senate’s panel mediation meeting described the now suspended charges as discriminatory and non-consultative, hence, in breach of the Civil Aviation Act of 2006, which clearly provides for consultation with relevant stakeholders before the introduction of fees regime.
He said: “We want to be led by the rule of law. NCAA did not consult us before imposing levies on us. We are urging the senators to impress upon the NCAA to always carry us along through consultations because section 70 (1) C of the Act did not allow them to do whatever will be detrimental to the nation.
“For every take off, we are paying $2, 500, why are we paying in dollars when it is not our local currency in the country and NAMA did not see anything bad in implementing such discriminatory policy.
“It is discriminatory for NCAA to charge different levies for scheduled and non-scheduled aircrafts. The law recommends payments either in local or hard currency but NAMA do not collect Naira.”
The managing director of NAMA, Mr Nnamdi Udoh , refuted the allegation that the agency compelled operators to pay charges in dollars.
Udoh said: “They (operators) are also at liberty to pay in naira. Payment in dollars is at their liberty. The provisions of section 30 was being used in the past to collect levies. The charges would make them to ensure sanity.
“Before the new one-stop-shop payment, we were charging navigation, landing, parking and terminal navigation levies, but services being offered in Nigeria must also conform to international best practices.
“They don’t pay five per cent charges out of the revenues they make. Safety is not cheap, the new levies are desirable because we have to maintain standards at all times.”
The NAMA MD insinuated at the mediation meeting that many private jet owners have abused their licenses to engage in fraudulent commercial air operations.
culled from Leadership
The Senator Hope Uzodinma-led committee directed NAMA and private jet owners to convene a “stakeholders’ meeting” to arrive at a “consensus” charge in line with the Civil Aviation Act of 2006.
By the directive, NAMA is to revert to the status quo ante. No date was fixed for the aviation stakeholders’ meeting.
These were fallouts of the tripartite mediation meeting convened by the Senate panel over the contentious $3000 and $2500 respectively charged by NAMA on private jets registered abroad and locally.
The suspended fees were prior paid by private jets for every departure (except round trips without changes in passenger manifest or return ferry) and were paid in advance to NAMA.
A representative of the affected airlines, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, at the Senate’s panel mediation meeting described the now suspended charges as discriminatory and non-consultative, hence, in breach of the Civil Aviation Act of 2006, which clearly provides for consultation with relevant stakeholders before the introduction of fees regime.
He said: “We want to be led by the rule of law. NCAA did not consult us before imposing levies on us. We are urging the senators to impress upon the NCAA to always carry us along through consultations because section 70 (1) C of the Act did not allow them to do whatever will be detrimental to the nation.
“For every take off, we are paying $2, 500, why are we paying in dollars when it is not our local currency in the country and NAMA did not see anything bad in implementing such discriminatory policy.
“It is discriminatory for NCAA to charge different levies for scheduled and non-scheduled aircrafts. The law recommends payments either in local or hard currency but NAMA do not collect Naira.”
The managing director of NAMA, Mr Nnamdi Udoh , refuted the allegation that the agency compelled operators to pay charges in dollars.
Udoh said: “They (operators) are also at liberty to pay in naira. Payment in dollars is at their liberty. The provisions of section 30 was being used in the past to collect levies. The charges would make them to ensure sanity.
“Before the new one-stop-shop payment, we were charging navigation, landing, parking and terminal navigation levies, but services being offered in Nigeria must also conform to international best practices.
“They don’t pay five per cent charges out of the revenues they make. Safety is not cheap, the new levies are desirable because we have to maintain standards at all times.”
The NAMA MD insinuated at the mediation meeting that many private jet owners have abused their licenses to engage in fraudulent commercial air operations.
culled from Leadership
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