In a recent memo by the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development the ministry of aviation approved by Festus Keyamo, he directed helicopter operators to pay helicopter landing fees at all Nigerian aerodromes, helipads, airstrips, floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units, floating storage and offloading (FSO) units and other oil platforms.
The landing fees would exclusively be collected by a private company, NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited.
It was stated in the memo that “It is imperative that all operators and stakeholders fully comply with this mandate, by granting total access to Messrs NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited for the collection of the levy, effective immediately, Non-compliance with this directive will constitute a breach of this mandate and will be met with the appropriate sanction”.
Helicopter operators in Nigeria have threatened to ground operations as a result of the newly increased landing fees by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Aviation.
They added that the grounding of operations will continue if the Federal Government insists that they must pay the landing fees.
The Managing Director and CEO of Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi whose company pioneered the helicopter shuttle for oil and gas services in Nigeria, said that the helicopter operators may likely shut down their operations or go to court.
Mr Ado Sanusi said that there is no basis for the landing charge because the operators pay for services rendered to them and the helipads where helicopters land and take off in offshore operations and elsewhere are owned by international oil companies and therefore, not the property of the Federal Government and that the operators pay their due charges to aviation agencies.
“I don’t think it is a good thing to do because the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommended that service providers in the aviation industry, which are government agencies, should engage in cost recovery, but unfortunately government has turned the agencies to profit-making organizations in the aviation industry”, He said.
Sanusi posited that in terms of security and knowing all the helipads in Nigeria, such is a duty of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Air Force and related security agencies, insisting it has nothing to do with civil aviation.
The operators said there is nothing bad in the Minister trying to increase revenue for the government but noted that there are some “untruthful assumptions that we need to bring to his attention.
