…Constitutes Themselves Into a Clogs In The Wheel Of Progress
Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has stated that some members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria(AON)have bluntly refused to obey the verdict of the Supreme Court despite the fact that it lost the case it instituted against the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency(NAMA) in 2006, on the payment of Terminal Navigational Charges (TNC) and En-route Navigational Charges (ENC)
The body made this known in a statement jointly signed by the President Comrade Eyaru Victor and General Secretary and Alawode Banji .
NATCA stated that in 2006 ,AON took NAMA to Court on the payment of TNC and ENC but the Apex Court ruled in favour of NAMA.
“AON in 2006 engaged NAMA in a legal battle on the payment of Terminal Navigational Charges (TNC) and En-route Navigational Charges (ENC). This was finally laid to rest by the unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court on 28th February, 2014 in favour of NAMA. Till date, some members of the AON refused to obey the law of the land employing different means to circumvent the judgment”.
This is just as the body appealed to th Federal Government to prevail on the defaulting members of AON and other operators to allow good reasoning prevail by paying the charges in question and other charges as at when due.
NATCA advised airline operators in the country to always pay their charges promptly to the aviation agencies to prevent the aviation industry from collapsing.
Such payments ,NATCA stated would save the industry from impending collapse and enhance the capacity of the agencies to effectively perform their duties.
NATCA pointed out that since AON members are paid for the services they render to the flying public, they should in turn be ready to pay for the services rendered to them by the aviation agencies.
The Air Traffic Controllers association emphasised that the survival of the nation’s aviation industry can only be guaranteed if all stakeholders strictly play by the rules, adding that it is quite disheartening that some members of AON have constituted themselves into a clogs in the wheel of progress by refusing to pay stipulated charges for the services they are provided with by the agencies.
To buttress its point NATCA cited the enabling Act No.48 of 1999 part III Section 7 (a),reminding AON members that NAMA’s statutory obligation is to provide Air Traffic Management Systems(ATMS) within the Nigerian Airspace, adding that “as an Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) sustaining agency, NAMA derives its funding from services rendered to airspace users as empowered by Part V Section II (b) (i) of the same Act.
Many air navigational service providers in the world, NATCA said rely on similar charges to fund their operations and that this reduces the financial burden on the Federal Government, encourages rapid development and renewal of facilities in the industry which in turn enhances quality of service delivery and air safety.
“In line with international practices, aviation charges were reviewed as they relate to different services provided by each of the agencies. The 5% Tickets and Cargo Sales collected by airlines and operators on behalf of the agencies is the direct contribution of travelling public to funding the industry’s operations. Unfortunately, the collected charges, running to several millions of naira, are not being remitted promptly by the airlines and operators, who are mostly members of Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) despite that they collected the charges on cash-and-carry basis,” NATCA said.
