November 30, (THEWILL) – President of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Comrade Galadima Abednego, has described as worrisome the temporary diversion of United Nigeria Airlines flight, NUA 0504, from the MM2 in Lagos en route Abuja on Sunday, November 26, 2023, to the Asaba International Airport, Delta State.
Comrade Galadima spoke in Kano on the sidelines of the ongoing National Air Traffic Communicators’ Association of Nigeria (NACAN) 10th Annual General Meeting/Conference.
He condemned all white crew piloted aircraft, positing that if it were to be Nigerian pilot crew, the UNA flight diversion incident would never happen.
Stating that NAAPE as an Aviation union has always kicked against such a system, Galadima described such a situation as a flagrant disregard of expatriate quota, just as he accused some operators who have acquired an AOC of being the major cause of such violation.
He said, “We see it as a flagrant disregard of expatriate quota. I will see it as a situation whereby because some people have AOC, they will just go and enter a lease agreement, which they call ACMI, where nothing other than the commission they get on their routes. But nothing accrues to Nigeria.”
According to him, in such situations, the Nigerian pilot doesn’t gain in terms of training or improvement of the skills or type rating, including the engineers, adding that “they just come with their aircraft with everything and begin to do business without regard or interface with our own professionals. I don’t think it is accepted.”
On the possible cause of the United Nigeria Airlines incident, Galadima said: “Again, you know what the information I have is that there was an error in the flight plan. Instead of using the IATA call sign of ADB, there was a change from V to B. But you begin to ask yourself questions. The flight plan is one document, and there is what they call loadership, which gives you the number of passengers onboard and other things. And then, the information we had was that the controller that gave start up reminded the captain that look, the flight plan is planned for Abuja but the pilot said no, it is Asaba.
Noting that, there are more questions unanswered that Nigerians need to know, Galadima queried why didn’t the controller refuse to give the pilot start-up, when it was obvious that something was amiss.
The NAAPE boss recalled that, before now, there used to be a programme that was put together for foreign pilots. called Environmental Familirisatiom Course in NCAT but has been jettisoned.
He, therefore, advised that the programme needs to be reintroduced with immediate effect so that foreign pilots would get to know the Nigerian airspace, adding that there should also be a way to evaluate that they really know it. He equally pointed out that there was also a policy of 60: 40 crew which has equally been done away with.
Commending the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, Galadima said, “I commend the Minister for taking swift action on ensuring that every flight will have a Nigerian pilot but we want to see the details. The details should be such that the Nigerian pilots are not subjugated under these foreign pilots because he is also a professional in his own right. Sometimes, the expatriates that come to this country are not the best out there. Nigerian pilots are better and doing very well and are abroad too. They shouldn’t be relegated to the background. They can have a Pilot In Command and issue us a Monitoring Pilot. We commend the NCAA, but the programme should be returned. The issue of the human factor must also be corrected.
He said that it is condemnable for United Nigeria Airlines to have issued a statement attributing the incident to weather in order to confuse the public, adding that it is not good for a safety-critical sector like aviation.
On 200 jobless Nigerian pilots which was earlier reported in the media, Galadima said “I still stand by that report. The truth of the matter is that you see, Wet Lease is done to bridge a gap for the carrying capacity. The airlines don’t have it. Most of their aircraft are either outside or in one of the maintenance issues or that. These aircraft come and there is no serious value addition in terms of employment for Nigerians. Agreed that they have gotten more aircraft but how has it enhanced the lives of Nigerian people? We are saying that the operators are looking for ready-made hands. And these people we are talking about can’t even afford the typerating that are very expensive. Most of them are young graduates.
He advised that going forward, airlines can only be strengthened by proper regulation, advising that the NCAA should be on top of its game.
“They should investigate any violation that we bring to their notice. We are ready to work with the government and the regulator especially in the areas of pilots’ and engineers’ employment so that we can fashion a way where they can retain currency and be more marketable. Some are now going abroad and some of the good hands are already moving to the Middle East and they are doing very well. We need to be forward-looking so that we have a succession plan because we are having ageing manpower”, Galadima said.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
