Chinedu Eze
Seymour Aviation Limited, the builder and operator of the new car park at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos in partnership with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has assured travellers and others of efficient and safe services.
The company has pledged its unwavering commitment to the delivery of exceptional services to its teeming customers across Nigeria, noting that with the completion of a multi-storey car park that has the capacity for about 1,300 cars at the international wing of the airport, the company would efficient parking spaces at the airport.
Specifically, the Managing Director of the company, Francis Ikenga promised to continually explore Public Private Partnership (PPP) opportunities as part of efforts to reduce the infrastructural deficit inherent in Nigeria’s aviation industry.
He said the new parking facility is equipped with a sophisticated billing system programmed to provide users with the exact amount for time spent at the parking lot and said the car park would eliminate long queues, reduce traffic, speed up passenger and vehicular movements at the landside of the airport terminal.
Ikenga pointed out that the multi-level car park is equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities including Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras mounted on every floor and around the premises, adequate conveniences for both male and female users on every floor of the complex.
“To ensure uninterrupted power supply, the facility is equipped with a standby generator that can provide power for 24 hours. Passengers will enjoy protection from the effects of weather elements as they disembark from their vehicles within the facility and move into the terminalâ€, he said.
Other innovative facilities at the car park include: Ablution areas provided at the ground floor, executive waiting lounge, public address system to be linked with flight arrival/departure information from the airport, bomb detector, and commercial spaces to cater to the needs of users, amongst others.
The multi-level car park, Ikenga explained was conceived primarily to support FAAN’s objective of making MMIA a hub for the West Africa and as destination of choice to airport service providers and users.
Air Peace Receives IATA Certificate
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema has said the airline is committed to safe, secure and exceptional flight services to its teeming customers.
Onyema made the pledge during the official presentation of the membership certificate of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to Air Peace in Lagos, saying the airline had distinguished itself in the Nigerian aviation industry on account of its managerial integrity and uncompromising adherence to the global requirements for safe flight operations.
He said the membership of the airline to IATA would greatly boost its drive to further expand to the West Coast of Africa and connect international routes, including Dubai, Houston, London, Mumbai, Guangzhou-China and Johannesburg.
Air Peace, he confirmed, had increased its fleet to about 24 aircraft to cater to its plan to begin flight operations to nine West African countries and six international destinations.
Speaking on the rigorous process Air Peace went through before securing its IATA Operation Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate and IATA membership, Onyema urged other countries to stop frustratingNigerian airlines from operating into their domains on the basis of aero politics.
He wondered why some countries would impose impossible conditions for Nigerian airlines to operate into their domains when the airlines had passed all global assessments for international flight operations.
“Air Peace has not been stopped (from flying outside Nigeria) yet, but I have seen others. A lot of foreign airlines do not want Nigerian airlines to succeed. It has to stop. If it continues I will go to court because they cannot be coming into our country and prevent us from flying into theirs.â€
He insisted that Nigerian airlines deserved to also benefit from the open skies arrangement foreign airlines had capitalised on to expand their operations to the country.
