Olu Owolabi is managing director, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL). He was also one of the company’s bosses before its privatisation instrumental to its turn-around. In this interview with SADE WILLIAMS, he spoke about SAHCOL’s plans to put customers first and the new ultra modern warehouse which is expected to become its competitive edge. Excerpts:
Plan to exceed customers’ satisfaction
Our customer is still the ultimate. The ultra modern warehouse we are building is part of our plan to exceed customers’ satisfaction this year and beyond. The warehouse is going to be the best in the country, not just in the country but the best in West Africa.
At the end of the completion of the warehouse, it will have 18 loading bays which you can’t find in any other warehouse, not even in our competitors’ because the loading bays will have cover. It they will be able to accommodate any size of cargo. All these are plans towards achieving this aim.
We want to offer seamless, stress-free customer services to passengers, airlines and other clients, we want to do all our best to satisfy the airlines. We want to ensure that passengers are stress-free and hassle-free before boarding and after arrival at the airports.
We want to ensure that airlines’ pallets are not destroyed; we have procured new equipment and more are coming, we are training more staff in line with this purpose; we are International Air Transport Association (IATA) and ISAGO complaint with attendant benefits.
Staff welfare
This is a company that is promoting staff every time, at least with more than five general managers now. By the time a company promotes the general managers, those spaces will be occupied by some other people in the company, so we are creating spaces and promoting staff. We are starting from up to down in order to let everyone benefit from the plan. There is also the housing welfare scheme which we have in the pipeline.
All these and many others are in place because we believe that without the staff which is the core of the company and key to the sustenance of the organisation, we can’t achieve much. Their loyalty and commitment are necessary.
Request for waiver on equipment importation
The former Minister of Aviation promised to include the ground handling companies in the waiver programme on part importation granted to airlines but nothing has been done about it. The problem we are having is government not recognising the importance of ground handling companies. After the airlines, the next port of call is the handlers.
Without the airlines, aviation agencies will have no business doing at the airports and without us, the handlers, the situation will not be conducive for airlines’ operations because you don’t expect the international airlines to come along with handling equipment from their countries.
Our role is very important in the smooth running of airlines and airports’ operations as well as passengers’ facilitation. It is therefore important that the handling companies be involved in any programme or decision that will implemented by government and its agencies.
Equipment for advanced technology
We have purchased equipment running into millions of naira and we are going to procure more as technology advances. We are present in 18 airports unlike our competitors and we are bringing in more and more equipment daily to meet the demands of technology. There is no airport in Nigeria today that any big airline will operate or fly into that we cannot handle.
Clientele base
We handle all the domestic airlines apart from FirstNation Airways. We handle international airlines such as United Airlines; Etihad Airways; South African Airways; Egypt Air; Gambia Bird; MEA, Africa World Airways and Sudan Air.
Others are Arik Air; Atlas Jet; Medview Air; CamAir-Co; Dana; DHL; SDV; Premier Logistics; AirFrance in PortHarcourt; Etihad Cargo and MNG Cargo operations.
We also provide ground handling services for Mat Air; Meridian Air; Kabo Air and Tradecraft.
Budget on ground support equipment
We are committing 60 percent of our budget on equipment year because of the new technology that are coming into the country. We are aware of advancement in technology and so we are committed to providing necessary GSE to our customers.
General cargo operations
Well, we can say that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is doing everything possible to sanitise the environment and the system but it needs to work harder to achieve more. We are happy about the ongoing renovations and modernisation of some areas at the nation’s airports.
However, we want to appeal to the Federal government to open up the cargo terminal at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, the terminal also needs expansion in order to give room for growth of the handling companies and the sector as a whole.
