With the recent impressive 3rd Quarter performance in revenue
generation by the Nigeria Aviation Handling Company, NAHCOaviance, its Group Managing Director/CEO, Mrs. Olatokunbo Fagbemi has assured that the company will not relax on its oars in improving on efficiency and
Standard Operating Procedures, SOPs.
This is just as the MD/CEO harped on customer satisfaction by the
company and the need for the Airport Authority to work at improving on
its facilities and services rendered to be commensurate to the charges
paid.
Speaking at the monthly Gateway Forum of the League of Airports and
Aviation Correspondents, LAAC, in Lagos, Mrs. Fagbemi said, the
company had invested massively in newer equipment to boost its
operations all geared towards customer satisfaction in ground handling operations, adding that ‘’As you invest in newer equipment you have better efficiency”.
She stressed that the processes and procedures were critically being
looked into as well as the manuals, SOPs and activities involving
ground handling operations with the KPMG on a transformation plan to
see how best the resources of the company can be used.
According to her, part of the transformation plan was to work at
changing the orientation of staff to be more focused on the customers,
adding that in the pursuit of efficiency, staff should not be
apprehensive of a retrenchment but to engage them to be more effective
to have better processes.
While commending the Airport Authority in enhancing security and
passenger’s checks at the Kano airport after the incident involving
some ground handling staff in connivance with drug barons to plant
hard drugs in passenger’s luggage, the NAHCO boss said that incident
had led to significant change in the discharge of duties by all
stakeholders.
“ AVSEC is doing what it should to do better and everybody is now
taking up their role better than they were doing before, I think that
is the benefit of that unfortunate incident, so out of it something
good has happened and I hope that this will continue to remain”.
She said on their part, they had put in place mechanisms to ensure
that their staff followed the SOPs and would come down on any staff
that violates any of the regulations.
“We have a unit Standard, Quality and Performance in all the airports,
they ensure that is met”.
According to her, when the incident happened, all stakeholders after
series of meetings agreed that all adhered strictly to the SOPs that
had to do with passenger’s facilitation.
NAHCO helmsman said they would be happier if Federal Airport
Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, can up their services in the area of
facilities for seamless passenger’s facilitation, citing electricity
and the baggage system process.
She however observed that lately FAAN had been responsive in the sense that when there are issues, there was constant communication with them, giving updates and efforts being made to resolve the issues.
“We haven’t had power for two months it is a material problem but we have been kept abreast of what is happening, this is the plan, this is
the next thing but we know this is not perfect, we are in touch, we are being told what is happening, so we can see even the baggage area there are meetings every month where FAAN is telling us what is being done. I think maybe because of the responsiveness that we have, we are able to manage the relationship better but we would be happier if things can happen faster”.
Fagbemi said they would be happier if the charges can come down.
