Aviation Unions Support Call for Commercialisation of Air Navigation Services

Aviation unions have expressed support for the recommendation of the Joint Action Committee of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which has called for the commercialisation or privatisation of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), describing the recommendation as both timely and necessary.

Aviation unions made up of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association, the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) said that the time to commercialise or private the agency is now.

They noted that without a doubt, commercialising or privatising NAMA would unlock access to private equity, private financing, international bonds, and capital markets, providing the substantial funding required to rapidly deploy next-generation technologies such as satellite-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) systems and modern backup infrastructure.

In a statement jointly signed by the leadership of the unions, they insisted that there is need for this shift, describing it as urgent.

“Currently, NAMA depends heavily on government budgets and statutory sources of funding, a model that is often constrained by funding limitations. National budget debates, shifting political priorities, and bureaucratic delays can delay critical safety upgrades and infrastructure modernisation.

“Commercialising or privatising NAMA would position the agency to become a more self-sustaining entity capable of accessing capital markets, issuing bonds, and attracting private investment for long-term projects. Freed from exclusive reliance on annual budget cycles for major capital projects, the agency would be able to make more timely, operationally driven decisions that prioritise efficiency and safety,” the unions stated.