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Engineers want FG to insist on new airplanes

By BusinessNews Staff on November 5, 2014

The Nigerian Society of Engineers has called on the Federal Government to mandate airline operators in the country to always use new airplanes for flight operations.

The society said the use of new aircraft should be made a standard practice in the Nigerian aviation sector, adding that only brand new airplanes should be brought into the country.

The President, NSE, Mr. Ademola Olorunfemi, stated that the travelling public needed to be assured that aviation was safe and that the sector offered choice and value.

A document by the society, which contains various recommendations that need immediate action by the Federal Government, stated that the use of new airplanes would ensure safety, security and environmental sustainability.

Olorunfemi, who signed the document, noted that aviation was the lifeblood of the global economy and the industry was one of the most sophisticated in the world with enormous potential economic advantages.

He said, “The government should set up standards for planes to be operated in the country. We are of the strong view that new planes should be the standard of aircraft to be brought to the country for operations.

“A regulator exists to protect the interest of the public, we must, therefore, ensure that policy and regulatory settings encourage rather than restrict the aviation industry’s economic contribution to the nation.”

The NSE president said although the government had done a lot in airport remodelling, there was still the need to step up the standard of maintenance and the level of cleanliness across Nigerian airports.

Olorunfemi noted that it was important for professionals to manage engineering departments in the aviation sector, adding that the society was “constrained to draw the attention of the government to the need for proper manning of engineering-based units of the aviation sector by relevant COREN registered personnel.”

“This will not only enhance speedy attainment of the government’s transformation agenda, but will also ensure proficient and qualitative execution of the same as well as boost the morale of the engineering professionals in the sector,” he added.

He also noted that participants at the World Engineering Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure 2014, which officially begins in Abuja today (Tuesday), would further discuss infrastructural issues that would enhance the nation’s economy and that of the entire globe.

[Punch]

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