BASL COO, Jibodu, says ‘We Have Capacity, Capability To Manage Any Airport Terminal In Nigeria’

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited operators of Murtala Muhammed Airport 2, (MMA2) Mr. Remi Jibodu has declared that BASL has the capacity and capability to manage any airport terminal in the Nigeria having managed MMA2 for close to two decades.

Jibodu made this disclosure when the executive members of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) paid a courtesy visit to the company’s office at MMA2 in Lagos.

Jibodu maintained that after 18 years of managing MMA2,coupled with what the company has achieved over the years, they should have that first right of refusal of managing any airport in Nigeria.

He declared that having managed a terminal for almost two decades, BASL has the capacity to extend same management prowess to any airport in Nigeria, as well as the West Africa sub-region.

The BASL COO lauded the Federal Government for implementing the Cape Town Convention (CTC) Practice which was instituted last year, noting that it will help enhance capacity in the aviation industry.

According to him, the CTC will inspire airlines to get dry leases, thereby streamlining aviation equipment financing, cost reduction and flexibility in the choice of utilising local crew instead of foreign crew.

In his words: “when you look at most of the aircraft that we brought in, maybe in November, December last year, you would realise that, because it was summer period, a lot of them were cheaper to get, at least at that time. And it was at serious costs, even at that. I have airlines that have to return their aircraft because they can’t cope with the lease agreements.

“In Nigeria, unless you have private funds, if you look at the financial institution, vis-a-vis what is happening in the industry now, you have interest rates of about 30 percent plus. The inflation is about 24/7 or thereabouts. So, it means that if you are borrowing money from the bank, it is going to be very difficult for you to break even, especially when they are putting the cost in terms of lease agreement on you.”

Jibodu affirmed that with dry lease, airlines would be able to maintain existing crew, which also would develop our own pilots in Nigeria, increase revenue as well as employ more people.

He highlighted that in talking about capacity, the routes should be taken into consideration, adding that some routes are not well serviced while others like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt are well utilised.

He opined that to balance the disparity the government should endeavour to create trade centres in various airport locations to speed up economic activities.

“If you bring in capacity today, what the airlines are looking at is, if I put this capacity, am I going to fill it? But, you know, the first thing that must happen is to establish trade centers, and the airport is just the one to ensure that, we connect those trade centers since economic activities are already there,” he added.

Jibodu explained that airline operation is not about one way and that both ways have to be calculated, adding “one of those things we encourage the government to do is to ensure that we develop the economic activities. We have new airports coming up, you know, states and all of that. But the truth about it is that do they have economic viability for you to be able to sustain that airport?  We are looking at that, to ensure that when government increases the activity, the connectivity will be very easy.”

He pointed out that facilities are there to have a smooth transition from the car park to customers’ final boarding gate, stressing that the company has a lot of things in between in relation to the vast space available at MMA2.

Commenting on how BASL is harnessing its large space available at the terminal, he hinted that, in the last two years, the company has seen fantastic things springing up and with over 100 tenants, the number is increasing, while another bank is coming on board.

He added that in terms of rentals, a bank is coming up again while they will be having more outlets.

He acknowledged that the terminal welcomes about 10,000 up to 15,000 people, including the footfalls, that come in and out of the facility on a daily basis and agued the government to ensure that they expand on what they are already doing.

Commenting on cargo, he said the company is ready to contribute to that cargo value chain and that was why they started the cold storage last year, which is trying to fill that gap in the cargo chain.

He also acknowledged that Nigeria has a lot of things going by road which is risky, and revealed that BASL is already developing and growing the cold chain in the system.

“Now, if we have a dedicated freighter system, which we are encouraging. We are talking to some people about this. We want more people to come into the business, so that we can be able to move these goods and redistribute all over Nigeria”, he emphasized.

Commenting on passenger traffic at the terminal, he said “from April last year downwards, it was not as good as what we have from January. Immediately, Dana Air left, you understand.

The COO further stated  “At some point, we also had very serious economic issues. I think around July, August, when the fuel went to about 4,000. It re-adjusted after one or two months. Then by October, it started picking up again and all of that. So, we have this ups and downs.

“Averagely, it’s better than what we had in 2023. We believe that we are still going to do better this year. Looking at the foreign exchange, I think it has come down to 1,400.

“It is a little bit stable. This is because before, every week or every day, you are having debt going back and forth. So, it’s a little bit stable.

“We believe that probably the government and the economic team will do something better this time around. They will rebase their economy. But majorly for us, it’s productivity. Because that’s what gives traffic. So, if the productivity increases, then this year will be a very fantastic year,”