Airline operators are set on a collision course with the federal government over recent directive by the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka that all airlines operating in Nigeria must have a Nigerian pilot onboard their fleet of aircraft to reduce the number of unemployed Nigerian pilots currently put at 327.
While the
minister believes the move would help to reduce growing number of unemployed
Nigerian pilots, airline operators said the policy will not work as previous
implementation did not yield good result. They argued that they had recruited
and trained some Nigerian pilots in the past only for them to move to another
airline shortly after they might have completed their certification
examinations, stressing that such an exercise has no benefit to them.
Now that
the policy seems not to have gone down well with some airlines, they have vowed
to resist the move due to the perceived losts coming to them from the exercise.
For example, the biggest airline in West African sub-region, Arik Airline
claimed it had lost over $10bn on training Nigerian pilots who at the end of the
day cross over to other countries to
continue their career.
Speaking
with Nigerian NewsDirect in an exclusive telephone chat, the Chairman of Arik
Airline, Sir Arhumemi-Ikhide explained that they have shown Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority (NCAA), documents to back their reason Arik Airline, with a
fleet of over 25 aircraft, will not obey such policy.
According
to him, “FG said that we should train unemployed Nigerian pilots but world over,
it is the government that trains pilots. Go to South African Airways or Indian
Airways; they all withdraw from a government trained pool of pilots.”
He added
that, “aside the fact that it is not our responsibility to train pilots, we have
trained many Nigerian pilots in the past without good result to show for it.
Remember, we are the only airline operating a Next Generation (NG) aircraft in
Africa.
“Do you
know that when we finished training these unemployed Nigerian pilots, they go to
the Middle East to continue their careers. After disappearing, we will suddenly
see them re-surfacing in countries like the United Arab Emirates or Afghanistan
airlines operating.
“We are
the ones who trained them. We have spent over N10bn to train Nigerian pilots in
the past; but it is like putting water in a basket. It’s a waste of capital.
After training them, we send them to European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
where they are issued European licence, but at the end of the day, they all
elope to the Middle East.”
When asked
if airlines could bond these pilots to checkmate the continuous waste of capital
due to the pilots eloping to other countries after being trained, he explained
that bonding is not effective in Nigeria.
In his
words, “we have bonded them in the past but that is not effective in this part
of the world. The system is not effective when it comes to bonding. Most of them
will elope under the cover of gathering experience from foreign airlines. They
will elope under the pretext that they will come back after gathering foreign
experience.
“When we
complained to NCAA, what we heard was
shocking. NCAA told us that it is a free world, that since the pilots have their
licences, they should not be subjected to any form of bonding or contract.
Meaning that all money spent on them is a waste of fund.
“For us to
accept to train any more unemployed Nigerian pilots, NCAA has to sign an
undertaking with us. We have learnt our lessons and we have the list of pilots
we have trained with our money. They are about 18. None of the Nigerian pilots
we trained in the past is working with Arik Airline.
“We have
spent so much money to train Nigerian pilots in the past. When they are in the
training school, we keep paying them. We have our evidences to show for this. We
cannot continue to throw money into a basket.”
When told
that some Nigerian pilots still work with Arik Airline, he explained that,
“those Nigerian pilots currently working with Arik Airline are people who were
trained by their parents in the United States of America (USA) or the United
Kingdom (UK).
“None of
the 18 Nigerian pilots we trained in the past currently work with Arik Airline.
They have all gone even when some of them were bonded. Most of them went abroad
to work, and because we cannot force people to work with us, it is a waste of
fund.
“We are
currently talking to the government on this issue. Most of the time, government
makes policy without consulting the airlines. We are the only one that has
trained people in the past, but the Ministry of Aviation said they are not aware
of this, but NCAA is aware. We have shown them the list of the trained 18 that
have disappeared.
“NCAA
needs to make an undertaking that after training, they will not elope. The
government has to make laws that will make airlines comfortable. Those
unemployed pilots complaining are also looking for an opportunity to elope. That
is what they do.” It was not clear at the time of compiling this report whether
the minister of aviation will take the issue lightly as the operators have vowed
not to obey his order. Mr Osita Chidoka was appointed aviation minister last year to revive the
aviation sector within six months of operation.
Source: newsdirectonline.com
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