By Dickson Omobola
Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, has urged Federal Government to rescind the payment of $300 landing fees by helicopter companies providing shuttle services to oil and gas operators.
NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited had received approval from the federal government under the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to collect a $300 helicopter landing fee from oil and gas service providers.
Last month, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, issued a directive on the payment, saying the money ought to be paid by the oil and gas companies, not members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, and threatened to punish defaulters.
However, Sanusi, who addressed newsmen, said the company demanding the money has not provided any service to warrant payment for cost recovery, insisting that the payment be jettisoned.
According to him, if NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited had provided any kind of service, it could argue about collecting such payment.
He said: “Payment of $300 fee is not part of International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, charges for cost recovery because you must invest; then you can now recover the cost. And the investment you are going to make must provide some value to the customer. Let’s say I am investing in radios or I am investing in navigational aids; I will tell the customers I am investing in this and over a period of five years, I want to recoup my investment. But in this one there is no investment. If they say there is an investment or the company says there is an investment, they should bring it out and let Nigerians see the investment they have made in either surveillance or in navigation or in communication. But you have not invested anything and you just put a levy, and you are not a government organisation to say that you want to tax people.
“Bear in mind that by the Act establishing NAMA, they are the only CNS providers. That is communication, navigation and surveillance. So, what else? How did that person (company) get to provide any of these, either the C or the N or the S? My understanding is that today, if the government allows it, charging $300 to helicopters per landing; tomorrow another will come and he will say that it is $500 he wants to charge. And maybe next year somebody will come and say, okay, it’s $1000 per landing. Arbitrary people will come because they have access or whatever they have to start charging things arbitrarily.
“Helicopter companies pay all their charges to NAMA. I believe that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development had earlier directed that nobody should pay the $300 fee, and I don’t know why they have re-introduced it again. I still believe that if there is any value this company is adding to the helicopter traffic, then the company should come out and tell Nigerians.”
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