The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO Aviance), one of Nigeria’s leading ground handling service providers has restated its commitment to support gender equality in the workplace and helping young girls develop interest in the aviation sector.
Speaking during an event held by the organisation to commemorate the International Women’s Day, Olatokunbo Adenike Fagbemi, managing director of the company, said the event is to celebrate women in the aviation sector.
“This is second time we are having this event. The first time, we had female engineers from within the aviation industry and outside and we had something smaller but this time around, we have females from airlines, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN), customs and other stakeholders. We want them to share with us on International Women’s Day around the theme ‘Each for Equal’ and looking at generational equality.
“If you notice most of the people that gave the speeches are focusing on the younger ladies. What we want to also do this year is to get enough women in aviation at the senior level and go to schools around Lagos and talk to the girls. I have also discussed with the people that came for this event so that next year, we will also reach out to the younger girls so they understand what the aviation industry is all about, so they can start showing some interest.
“We want them to understand that it is more than being a pilot or air hostess, it also involves working on the aircraft, working with cargo, providing safety services, being a regulator and air traffic management amongst other things. So, there is a place for everyone,” Fagbemi said.
She disclosed that a lot of times she gets emails from people referring to her as ‘Mr’ as people just assume she should be a man because of her position.
She acknowledged that there has been a lot of gender imbalance in aviation, adding that at NAHCO, everybody is given equal opportunity.
Speaking on the impact of coronavirus on the company, she said, “Coronavirus just started and February is usually a low month for cargo but there is an impact because passenger traffic has reduced. We still provide services to our airlines but we also know that some of our airlines are already cancelling flights.
“For now we are okay, but we are more conscious. Every day we have talks on hygiene and we are changing some of the cleaning materials that we are using for the aircraft. So that is an impact for us.”
Also speaking at the event, Yakubu Henrietta, general manager, public affairs, FAAN said women representation in aviation is not yet a 50-50 representation but women are truly coming up but there are more women in aviation now than it was maybe a decade ago.
Henrietta noted that women are now ready to come to the fore front now. “I remember when I was made acting general manager of Public Relations, FAAN, a lot of people were doubting my abilities and the best form of revenge is success and that was when I told myself that I would do better than my predecessors and I’m proud to say that I am doing very well.
“When people relegate us to the background, it gives us a push and it makes us perform better than men in the industry,” she said.
She disclosed that she had a lot of male bosses that were doing very well and they were interested in seeing her grow in the system, so she looked up to them.
On the steps the airports are taking in fight against coronavirus, she said in all international and domestic airports FAAN is doing so well in the fight against coronavirus.
“I just came back from Germany and there were no checks there but I can tell you that in the aircraft to Lagos we were given forms to fill. When I came back they refused to clear me because they insisted that I must write the number of my flat on the form. We are doing a lot better than some other country.
“Airlines’ revenue has been affected. The flight was half full when I was coming because there are a lot of travel restrictions and people are playing safe. There are no direct flights from Lagos to Italy or China. When passengers come and display any of those symptoms, people are put on stand for further checks. Nigerians pray a lot and God has been helping us,” Henrietta said.
