Inaccurate data as faltering to Nigeria’s aviation sector growth
Believable data gathering and presentation has been a major stumbling block to the growth and development of the aviation sector in Nigeria. The importance of data collation, sifting and analysis cannot be over-emphasised in today’s global businesses.
Most sectors and businesses depend largely on data to plan and execute their objectives. Data analytics enables organisations to evaluate their profitability and make data-driven decisions on expansion or contraction.
The global aviation industry, including public and private organisations use passenger data and information from the flight deck to the airline operations centres, while the connected aviation ecosystem runs on data.
Technologies play crucial roles and enable experts to collect, monitor and analyse vast amounts of aviation data worldwide.
For airlines, appropriate use of data is essential for achieving faster, more fuel-efficient routes, reduced cancellations and delays, operational improvements, increased passenger satisfaction and loyalty, more efficient airspace utilisation, passenger demand, travel patterns and market trends to identify profitable and new routes, optimise their flight schedules and fit capacity to demand.
While the global aviation industry, including those from other African countries have benefited hugely in the use of data, the reverse is the case in Nigeria.
Organisations, especially airlines, ground handling companies and other auxiliary businesses plan blindly and adopt archaic data for their businesses. In fact, the data are impracticable.
The various government agencies in the sector in charge of data collation; the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), dispense conflicting and unharmonised data to the public and business organisations.
At a gathering recently in Lagos, aviation stakeholders and professionals spoke extensively on the importance of data to their business growth, but regretted that data are simply unavailable in the sector, despite the avalanche of agencies saddled with such responsibility.
They declared that without believable data, the industry would continue to be a laggard, while organisations would continue to close shop. Mr. Bankole Bernard, the Group Managing Director (GMD), Finchglow Holdings, in his presentation at the event, canvassed for central data systems.
He lamented that the Federal Government and its agencies were not purposeful with data gathering for the growth of the sector.
Bernard regretted that different agencies in the sector release diverse data for players in the industry, maintaining that it was impossible for the sector to survive without a central data system.
Bernard emphasised that the lack of verifiable data was slowing down the growth of the industry, stressing that the sector was not lacking in expertise. According to him, with a verifiable central data system, 50 per cent of the challenges in the sector would be solved.
He said: “It is impossible for us as an industry to survive without having a central data system. Without a central data system, on what basis are we formulating our policies and on what basis are we making plans? On what basis are we thriving in business?
“All you hear day-in-day-out is that 5 per cent of the population is air travellers. Who is coming up with the figures? We always say we have 15 million travellers in Nigeria out of the 240 million people. We are well-enlightened and I believe that we are not a country of illiterates.
“So, if the minister can help us to have a central data system, I believe that 50 per cent of our problems would be solved. It is necessary that a lot of attention is paid to this.”
Besides, Bernard decried the continuous dwindling of naira against the dollars, noting that this was having an adverse effect on cost of operations.
To salvage the situation, Bernard called on the government to create an enabling environment for business organisations to thrive.
“Unfortunately for us as an industry, everything about us is dollarised and that has a lot of impact on our operations. I believe that the government can initiate policies that will support the industry. There must be policies that will sustain the industry by helping it to stay afloat.
“Then, another vital point is continuity. Year-in-year out, as we have a new government comes in, we see policies somersaulting at every point and continuity is the only thing that can sustain our kind of industry; when the new government does not change the existing policies, rather, working on the plan to see it to completion.
“It is highly necessary as a nation that the government helps in keeping the business going by maintaining the same level of continuity in existing policies.”
Also, Mr. Olaniyi Adigun, the Chairman, Aviation Ground Handling Association of Nigeria (AGHAN), in his presentation, said that without collaboration, consolidation and believable data, the Nigerian aviation industry would continue to lag behind.
Adigun explained that the sector in Nigeria was yet to be taken as a critical business as it is done elsewhere.
Adigun wondered why data data gathering had become a herculean task to achieve despite the array of agencies in the industry. According to him, government agencies in the sector release different data to investors, stressing that without authentic data gathering, the Nigerian aviation industry would continue to grope in the dark.
Again, he called on the respective government agencies, especially NCAA to emulate its counterpart in the financial sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), by spearheading the release of believable data for the industry. He explained that this would enable investors and prospective investors to plan ahead in their businesses.
“I was very happy when someone spoke about data. You can’t do business without data. The CBN forecasts in the banking industry and it can tell you the growth or diminish rates in the sector, but, who is doing that in the aviation industry?
“How do we get the data? And without data, you cannot do business at all. It is good for us to look inward and talk figures. Aviation is about business. What you sell is about air safety and security,” he said.
Also, he challenged the players in the industry to take a cue from the financial sector in the country, which had evolved with collaboration, consolidation and partnership.
Adigun explained that with the skyrocketing rate of dollar against the naira, it was evidently clear that no organisation or airline could go it alone.
He warned that without partnership, businesses in the sector would continue to collapse.
He said: “It is not rocket science that the industry is at where it is today; the dollar is rising against the naira. We all need to know that aviation is business and when we talk about business, we talk about profitability, data collections. How do we sustain the Nigerian aviation business? We need to have an economic summit where we open the doors to investors; we need to open up. What are these challenges facing us? This is very important. We cannot continue to standalone.
“Secondly, are we trading among ourselves? We are not! I can have an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card of a particular bank and use it in another bank’s ATM machine. If I book for instance with Aero Contractors, can I use it on Air Peace? We don’t have such a close relationship. We need to collaborate among ourselves.
“Yes, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development can advocate for dry leasing and not welcome wet leasing, but the fact is are the operators doing business among ourselves? There is the need for us to look inward, collaborate, consolidate and stand together.”
At a recent gathering in Lagos, Dr. Allen Onyema, Chairman, Air Peace Airlines, had queried the quality of data made available to airline operators, saying that this could push them into unprofitable routes.
For instance, Onyema pointed out that for its Niger Republic route, 15 passengers was the highest it ferried to the neighbouring country in a single flight.
He stressed that this led the airline to shut down the route because it was unprofitable. He hinted that before the airline commenced the Niger route, data made available to it showed that the route was very lucrative, which was not so at the end of the day.
“We need to improve on our data collation in Nigeria. This is one of the challenges airlines face in Nigeria,” Onyema added.
