The Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, has called on enhanced collaboration between the Authority and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to strengthen and promote the sustainable growth of Nigeria’s aviation industry.
Kuku said this when the Vice-President for Africa and the Middle East of IATA, Mr Kamil Alawadhi, paid a courtesy visit to the FAAN MD/CE on Tuesday at the FAAN Headquarters in Lagos.
Mr Alawadhi led a five-man delegation of senior IATA officers, which included the Area Manager for West & Central Africa, Dr Samson Fatokun; Director of Operations, Safety and Security for Africa and the Middle East, Mr Kashif Khan; the Regional Manager, Customer Experience & Passenger Facilitation, Mr Mamadou Guebre and Jennifer (Aisha) Yeates ,
Assistant Director Operational Safety at IATA Africa and Middle East (AME)
Mr Alawadhi acknowledged the present administration’s significant improvements made at Nigerian airports and praised FAAN’s commitment to maintaining high standards of safety, security, and passenger experience. He underscored the importance of leveraging technology to upgrade security processes, such as checkpoint management, and expressed IATA’s interest in collaborating with FAAN on these initiatives. He highlighted IATA’s preference for utilising digital solutions to enhance passenger facilitation and improve information sharing between various agencies at the airport, which would contribute to operational efficiency and overall improved passenger experience.
In her response, Mrs Kuku emphasised that the continuous improvement of security protocols is a top priority for FAAN under her leadership, particularly in an evolving global aviation landscape where safety is paramount. She explained FAAN’s determination to adopt advanced security technologies and processes that protect passengers and streamline their airport experience while adding that FAAN is focused on making the airports more passenger-centric by improving customer service, eliminating complex check-in procedures, thereby reducing passenger facilitation time, and enhancing airport facilities.
Mrs Kuku called for closer collaboration between FAAN and IATA, urging that both organisations meet more regularly. She sought IATA’s assistance in traffic development and any other areas necessary to ensure the success of FAAN’s operations and the sustainable growth of the aviation industry in Nigeria. She assured her visitors that FAAN is fully committed to implementing IATA’s recommendations, ensuring that Nigerian airports continue to meet international benchmarks. In his response, Vice-President Alawadhi pledged IATA’s continued support to FAAN.
Other members of the FAAN management team present to receive the visitors were the Director of Airport Operations, Captain Abdullahi Mahmood; General Manager, Business Development, Mr Hycienth Ngwu amongst others.
