The Managing Director Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN Captain Rabiu Yadudu has called on staff of the agency to take networking seriously as this will afford them the opportunity to interact, exchange information that will help them add value to service delivery.
Speaking during the Servicom Networking Meeting in Calabar, Captain Yadudu said, staff of FAAN and other agencies in the Ministry of Aviation must continually seek ways to move the various organisations forward, adding that networking enabled one to evaluate the past activities, give analysis to services rendered, especially in light of the new normal’, draw up modalities and celebrate wins where find.
He noted that, the Aviation sector play a vital role in facilitating economic growth and development which provides numerous economic and social benefits, adding that the main economic impact of aviation arises from its ability to generate employment opportunities, wealth, effectively supporting global business and tourism, especially developing ones and the opportunity to facilitate trade and enable connection in the global supply chain.
According to him, the industry is one of the most hit sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic which had led to the sudden drop in demand for air travel, brought the airports to a standstill situation coupled with the air traffic reduction.
Captain Yadudu said the airports were greatly impacted recording low passenger booking, and travel restrictions imposed by some countries led to loses of take-off and landing fees as well as Passenger Service Charges (PSC) which are the major revenue generating points of airports.
He however stated that with the assistance of government measures and industry guidance, recovery has started.
“The aviation sector made some guideline to ensure the health and safety of passengers, the crew, and the rest of the airport workers”.
“FAAN will continue to support activities that will portray the organisation in positive light and bring about increase in passenger traffic, which is the mantra of Customer Service department, the Ministry of Aviation and the SERVICOM presidency”.
Giving a breakdown of what was lost due to the impact of the pandemic on airport operations, the General Manager Customer Service Mrs Ebele Okoye said there was a sharp fall in revenues, for FAAN which went as low as 25-30% drop of her pre-COVID-19 revenues both aeronautical and non aeronautical sources.
This she said amounted to N18.9 billion, following a 90 per cent decline in revenue in the first half of 2020.
“Given the importance of airports to the economic development of any nation, the broader impact of COVID-19 on the global economy is enormous”.
Mrs Okoye harped on the essence of the meeting which include among others to rub minds, exchange views on challenges affecting the work, and strengthen the spirit of teamwork among staff of the various agencies.
She said, no Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDA’s can solve the problems of aviation alone but It would takes the collective responsibility of all to achieve success.
“We are here also to share and learn from our experiences, build on our strengths, and project ways for sustainability of the industry. In recent time our journey, has been one of overcoming many challenges and recording success stories which have impacted in no small measure in putting the aviation sector on the spotlight”.
