LAGOS AVIATION SECTOR REFORM CONFERENCE-ALL TALK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000195 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE PASS FAA FOR ACONLEY, TRANSPORTATION FOR FAA; DAKAR PLEASE PASS TO FAA REP ED JONES; ROME PLEASE PASS TO TSA REP JOHN HALINSKI E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2016 TAGS: EAIR EINV PREL NI SUBJECT: LAGOS AVIATION SECTOR REFORM CONFERENCE-ALL TALK LITTLE ACTION Classified By: Consul General Brian L. Browne for reasons 1.4 (B/D). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) The January 19-20 Aviation Sector Reform Conference emphasized the need for Nigeria to meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards, hire experienced inspectors, and pass an Aviation Bill granting the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) autonomy from the Aviation Ministry. NCAA Director General (DG) requested foreign assistance to bring expatriate safety inspectors to Nigeria. ICAO representatives warned that most Nigerian airline operators are not ICAO compliant, and that serious safety concerns remain. End Summary. -------------- Background -------------- ¶2. (U) The two-day aviation conference held in Lagos, covered Nigeria's aviation policy and regulatory structure, airspace management, human capital management, and airports/infrastructure concerns. Attendees included: the Minister of Aviation, Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, ICAO Regional Director for West and Central Africa, International Air Transport Association (IATA) Vice President for Africa, private airline companies, and Aviation Ministry personnel. Spurred by the recent air mishaps, this was Nigeria's largest aviation conference in recent years, with over 600 participants from the public and privates sectors. Conference organizers are establishing follow-up committees in hopes of encouraging the Aviation Ministry to implement Conference recommendations. However, the Aviation Ministry is selecting candidates for the committees, thereby putting into question the impartiality and independence of such committees. -------------- Safety Inspectors Urgently Needed -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The recently appointed NCAA Director of Flight Operation and Training, Captain A.F. Dare, said his organization needed experienced inspectors in airport security, air space navigation standards and surveillance, flight operations, airworthiness standards, aviation security, and aeromedical operations. NCAA DG Harold Demuren asserted an urgent need for assistance from the USG and international community to attract qualified, trained experts. Captain Dare said the NCAA needed at least 10 inspectors, at a cost of more than USD 1.5 million, he estimated. ICAO Chief Technical Adviser, Roger Lambo, cautioned that the NCAA may need to hire qualified experts, but said experts must have some familiarity with Nigeria's aviation environment to be effective. ¶4. (C) Lambo stressed the need for Nigeria to recertify all domestic Nigerian airlines. He said the majority of airlines fall below ICAO standards. Captain Dare agreed, and said recertification of airlines was his key priority, but the 4-month timeline given to him by the Presidential Task Force on Airworthiness was unrealistic and that he did not have the resources to achieve this brisk pace. He agreed with Lambo that two-day audits and temporary Presidential Task Forces on aviation security are not substitutes for recertification, and that air operating certificates issued in Nigeria were "worthless". He requested Federal Aviation Administration assistance in providing recertification training courses for his inspectors. -------------- -------------- Need for NCAA Autonomy, Human Resources Development -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Dare said numerous challenges remain including passage of an Aviation Bill granting NCAA autonomy. Without this bureaucratic independence, the NCAA is basically powerless to LAGOS 00000195 002 OF 002 sanction airlines that fail to comply with minimum safety standards, he said. Landover Company CEO and organizer of the Lagos conference, Captain Edward Boyo, said the bill was crucial to create a level-playing field for airline companies, and to grant NCAA the authority to suspend erring airline operators and revoke their air operating licenses. He complained that Presidential Task Force's should not be given the authority to unilaterally make decisions and regulate the aviation industry. ¶6. (C) Dare said salaries of NCAA employees were inadequate, and human resource development and training was lacking. He argued that poor salaries meant employees 'attentions' were often focused on other means of employment. He argued his organization faced a human resources "crisis", and Nigeria was not producing enough qualified pilots. Nigerian Airspace Management Agency Director General and member of the Presidential Task Force on Airworthiness, Captain Roland Iyayi, added that NAMA needed an additional 50 air traffic controllers and engineers trained in weather, communication, and navigation systems. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Given the air tragedies of the past few months, the aviation conference was conducted with a sense of urgency to address aviation industry challenges. While the important topics were discussed and major lapses identified during the Conference, the perennial question of whether the political will to implement correct policies remains pending. The Aviation Ministry is hiring experienced private sector employees to assume top management positions, but they do not have the resources to succeed. An improved Aviation Bill with parallel regulatory reform, needs to be passed and a thorough recertification of all domestic airlines should be conducted as necessary first steps. Until these are accomplished, the same problems plaguing the aviation industry in 2005 are likely to bedevil the industry in the foreseeable future. End Comment. BROWNE