A civil society organisation, the Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), on Wednesday described the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) recent directive to ban the use of mobile phones in “aeroplane mode” during flights as a regressive policy that exposes the country to global ridicule.
According to the organisation’s Country Head of Office, Omoniyi Akingunola, in a statement made available to journalists, the directive indicated serious international embarrassment to Nigeria.
The Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, at a stakeholders’ meeting themed “National Civil Aviation Security Committee Meeting” in Abuja on Tuesday, had declared that all passengers must now completely switch off their electronic devices during flights, thereby ending the long-standing “flight mode” practice.
Following the development, NEFGAD accused the aviation regulatory agency of attempting to cover up what it described as its organisational ineptitude by enforcing an obsolete rule, rather than addressing the core technological deficiencies within the country’s aviation sector.
While disclosing that NEFGAD has also petitioned the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) to verify the technology status of Nigerian airlines, Akingunola argued that the NCAA’s position “smacks of incompetence and inefficiency”, capable of sending dangerous signals to the international community about the state of Nigeria’s airspace.
He said, “NOTAP is an agency established to facilitate the growth of a strong Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) system in Nigeria and is equally saddled with the responsibility of tracking the inflow of foreign technology into the country.
“The NCAA’s recent directive mandating all air passengers to completely switch off their mobile phones during flight take-off and landing is outdated and out of fashion.”
With Akingunola emphasising that the aviation sector has advanced far beyond the NCAA’s current operational scope, he maintained that while modern aircraft currently provide free Wi-Fi services for passengers throughout flight operations, Nigerian authorities are still attempting to enforce obsolete practices.
Akingunola, who revealed that modern aeroplanes are built to resist any interference from personal devices or electronic gadgets, said, “The NCAA seems to have forgotten that the aviation sector has advanced far beyond its current operational scope.
He said, “Modern aircraft in today’s world, including Emirates, Lufthansa, Air France, Delta, British Airways, and Qatar Airways, all offer free Wi-Fi services for passengers in the air and during all stages of flight operations.
“The NCAA directive has clearly shown the outside world that Nigeria’s airspace is dominated by obsolete planes manufactured before the year 2000, which are over 25 years old. It is doubtful if any serious-minded investors will risk their lives flying in a country whose airspace is largely dominated by such outdated aircraft.
“As a regulator, if your flight operations cannot provide basic international standards of in-flight internet connectivity 25 years after the advent of Wi-Fi/internet-enabled aircraft for the use of in-flight passengers, then the regulator itself should bear the blame, not the passengers.”
NEFGAD also lamented that Nigerians pay some of the most expensive airfares for both local and international travel, saying the country cannot continue to be a dumpsite for outdated aeroplanes that fail to provide passengers with comfort and advanced in-flight experiences.
He said, “This is not the era of regulatory grandstanding, but technological innovation and competitiveness. NCAA has no excuse other than to wake up from its regulatory trance and bring real innovation to our airspace by benchmarking Nigerian airlines’ technology against ICAO-compliant international standards and making Nigerians more comfortable with full in-flight experiences as obtainable anywhere else in the world.”
