NIGERIA-TRANSPORT: It Takes Courage to Travel by Plane

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Remi Oyo

LAGOS, Jul 10 1996 (IPS) - It takes a good measure of courage, fatalism or faith in God to travel by plane in Nigeria, where an average of almost two air mishaps occur each year.

In the past 26 years, Nigeria recorded an estimated 46 plane crashes which caused hundreds of deaths. In addition to the actual disasters, there have been countless airplane emergencies — 32 in 1991 alone.

In January this year, 13 people were killed in a plane crash, while 12 died in another air mishap in June. The two accidents have focussed attention on the risk which air transport in Nigeria involves.

The problems facing air travel here are in part economic, ranging from obsolete navigation aids in most airports to the age of the planes used, some of which are older than 20 years.

Samaila Makama, Director-General of the Federal Ministry of Aviation admits that a structural adjustment programme started 10 years ago has “adversely affected the overall operations and fortunes of the air transportation industry”.

All commercial airline operators, he said here at a recent seminar on ‘Air Transportation in a Distressed Economy’, needed to adopt suitable cost-saving measures to cope with the rigours of economic downturn.

But it could be argued that some aircraft are poorly maintained precisely because their operators want to cut costs. It is not uncommon to find technicians repairing planes belonging to private airlines shortly before they take off.

Critics say most of the planes used by private operators in Nigeria are outmoded and are no longer flown in more developed countries.

Makama said his government was doing its best to ensure that all navigational and landing aids were maintained and checked to ensure greater efficiency in commercial air transport.

In an interim report submitted recently to the government, a task Force set up in April to look into the deficiencies of the country’s aeronautical communication capability recommended the restructuring of Nigeria’s air routes.

It has also suggested that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria should ensure regular maintainance of equipment and an uninterrupted power supply to control towers.

A manager of a European airline that flies here told IPS that a delegation of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which visited Nigeria in May found that improvements had been made in the area of satellite telecommunication.

“Air transport in Nigeria is not as bad as people will want the world to believe,” said the manager. “There have been considerable improvements in maintenance of facilities and monitoring of airlines for adherence to safety regulations.”

Due to more stringent regulations instituted by the Ministry of Aviation, a private commercial airline has been stopped from flying any of its aircraft until it meets official guidelines, he disclosed, adding that insurance companies, too, have become wary of insuring planes which are not skyworthy.

He said the crashes recorded, especially since last year, “could be due to several factors, chief among them human errors. They are not necessarily due to the state of the aircraft”.

However, Makama defends Nigeria’s pilots. “Apart from being less expensive to hire and maintain, they are very reliable, operationally sound and efficient,” he said at the seminar.

“Nigerian pilots have the added advantage of having good working knowledge of our airspace in addition to the terrain and all the landmarks,” Makama said. “They are easily adaptable when situations of visual landing arise, a feat they perform far better than their foreign counterparts.”

Whatever the causes of the plane mishaps, there is little indication that fewer people will travel by air, especially since Nigeria’s roads, most of which are potholed, are even more unsafe.

According to the Federal Road Safety Commission, an estimated 33,900 people are killed or injured in road accidents in Nigeria each year. The Federal Office of Statistics puts average annual road fatalities at almost 10,000.

“Frankly, I’d rather go by air,” says Helen Inyang, who travels regularly between Lagos and the southeastern city of Calabar. “It is faster and more economical in the long run if you are into big-time business.

“We pray for a safe flight, Inyang told IPS minutes before boarding her plane to Calabar. “Even in (the United States of) America planes crash. I trust the pilots but anything can happen even if one is sitting in front of one’s house.”