Arik Automates 5% ticket to NCAA
…. Also cargo sales payment system
Arik Air has adopted the automation platform for the payment of mandatory five per cent ticket and cargo sales charges to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).The automated process ensures prompt remittance of deductions and puts an end to airlines’ indebtedness to the regulatory agencies. In a related development, the NCAA has denied recruiting new workforce, even as it disowned related advertisements making the rounds.
At the presentation of the signed automation agreement, at the NCAA’s headquarters recently, Director General of the apex regulatory body, Captain Muktar Usman, said the deduction was in line with the provision of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs).Muktar congratulated Arik Air for being fully compliant with the regulations. He urged other airlines to reconsider their decision not to join the platform, saying the automation system ensures transparency. The entry of Arik brings the number of airlines on the platform to five; after Med-View, Overland, Aero and Dana Air.
Usman observed that everyone expects efficiency from the regulatory authority and thus it was necessary to do what was expected of them to help the authority succeed. He explained that the five per cent ticket and cargo sales charges are shared between five agencies namely, the NCAA, the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), adding that the NCAA does not take money from government but generates its revenue internally from these charges.
According to him, “The five per cent charges are meant to take care of five agencies – NCAA, NAMA, AIB, NCAT and NIMET. Of the five agencies, the NCAA depends on the five per cent as its internally-generated revenue and does not take money from the federal government.” Arik Air Managing Director, Captain Roy IIegbodu, said Arik Air was committed to associating with the future and believed that this was a step in the right direction.
Ilegbodu noted that automation was all about technology and the airline supports technology and would continue to join all parties in the industry to develop technology.
“One of the thing I would like to say is that the team that worked with us was very supportive. They worked through last year and this year. It is not an easy task; automation itself is complex. We will continue to do our utmost to support the growth of aviation in Nigeria,” he said. Spokesperson of the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, explained that the career programme on the NCAA’s website is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria created to collate data of eligible Nigerians to tackle unemployment in Nigeria.
He said: “The database of Pilots, Cabin crew, Engineers etc. would be made available for emerging aviation career opportunities in Nigeria and other countries. “NCAA is driving this programme as a Federal Government agency for the benefit of unemployed aviation professionals and, therefore, urges the public to disregard the fictitious advertisement.
“Similarly, if and when there are job opportunities at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, we would follow due process,” Adurogboye said. The Guardian
