Experts Flay Domestic Airlines For Poor Feasibility Studies

Stakeholders in the avia­tion sector have called on the Nigerian domestic airlines to carry out feasibility studies on managing airlines before venturing into the sector.
The comment is coming on the heels of the suspension of Discovery Air’s Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) issued to it by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over alleged safety beaches.
Speaking in an interview in Lagos, an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, Patrick Adah, stated that some of the challenges domestic airlines are passing through are caused by the air­lines themselves.
The Aircraft Maintenance En­gineer wondered why Discovery Air, that secured AOC less than a year ago cannot sustain its op­erations.
He contended that one of the first things the airlines are get­ting wrong is that they are not ready to do the right thing, add­ing that there are laws regulat­ing whatever they are doing in the aviation sector but that these airlines don’t want to do the business according to the rules.
Adah said that the fact that these airlines did not do their home well before venturing into airline business informed why an airline such as Discovery Air ,barely one year after it secured AOC has started having issues with the regulatory body NCAA.
“What is wrong? Was the air­line not prepared? Didn’t they do their homework well before venturing into the business? As far as I am concerned, it is too early to start having problems with the regulatory body,” he said.
He stated that aviation indus­try is safety driven, adding that a situation where airlines’ work­ers no matter who the workers are; whether technical or other­wise, are not paid their salaries compromise safety.
He took a swipe at the regula­tor, who he alleged, has not en­forced the rules as it should be, adding that what is going on the political scene is what Nigeri­ans are witnessing in the avia­tion industry.
According to him, “safety is not negotiable in aviation. Safe­ty is enhanced when all staff from cleaners to the managing director play their own part”.
On whether the issue men­tioned by NCAA is enough to suspend Discovery Air’s AOC, Adah said that there may have been other issues which NCAA did not make public.
He also alleged that some air­lines that operate cargo fly their aircraft abroad for C, Checks without paying workers’ sala­ries, despite the fact that these workers were neither sacked nor given suspension letters.
Source: Daily Times