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| The new look of Kaduna International Airport on Tuesday (7/2/17) in preparation for smooth take-off of flight operations as Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja closes temporary for repairs. |
Passengers stranded, lack access to ATM, PoS, BDC
Air passengers plying the Kaduna International Airport (KIA) are
facing fresh hurdles as airlines operating at the aerodrome are
insisting on only cash transactions.
The newly refurbished airport, which also serves as an alternative to
the closed Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, is
currentlyoperat without Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Point of Sale
(PoS) and Bureau de Change (BDC) outlets to serve international
passengers especially.
Some passengers without cash to buy tickets or prior booking
arrangements are left stranded at the airport. The development is coming
at a time the Federal Government is working to ensure a seamless
transition, as the airport is the only route to connect the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT), which is the seat of the government. Besides,
the cash-only syndrome runs contrary to the cashless policy of the
economy.
The Guardian learnt that a family of six was among those stranded at the
weekend and unable to travel.A traveller, Samson Akinsiku said it was
shocking to find airlines rejecting debit cards, and saying there was no
PoS.
“There are three of the airlines heading to Lagos almost at the same
time, which is good anyway.
To buy ticket became the problem. The first
said its PoS was not working, the other two said they did not even have
at all. And this is supposed to be an international airport?
“I didn’t know how big the shit was until I asked for an ATM and they
said there was none around, except if I go to town some 10 to
20kilomatres away,” he said.
Another traveller, Emmanuel, also expressed concerns on services
rendered by airlines officials at the airport, who insisted on closing
the counter by 4:00 p.m.
Emmanuel, who travelled by rail from Abuja yesterday to catch a Lagos
flight, was shocked to find the airline’s counter closed by 4:30p.m.
When he insisted on flying, since the aircraft was still on ground and
seats available, he was given a bill of N28,000 instead of N16,000 promo
fare. Emmanuel got a hand-written boarding pass in exchange for the
N28,000.
When asked why the airline had no PoS and the counter closed early,
an Arik Air official said it was the norm around there.“That is how we
operate here. We don’t use PoS. You either bring your money or forget
it,” the official fired back.
The Communications Manager for Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa said the
development was unusual and they were doing everything possible to go
cashless in Kaduna by today or tomorrow.
“We have been on this for a while. But it is the banks that kept
delaying us. We pushed them all through last week to put the necessary
things in place. We know its importance to making passengers have
seamless travel experience and we will stop at nothing to have the PoS
option working. If not tomorrow (today), then Tuesday latest,” he said.
The Spokesperson of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN),
Henrietta Yakubu, also confirmed that the banks were in the process of
beginning operations at the airport, to support transactions, whether
cash or cashless.
Yakubu assured that the likes of Zenith, Guaranteed Trust Bank (GTB)
and First Bank were due to begin operations and open ATM facilities this
week.
It was also learnt yesterday that the Nigeria International Trade and Investment Conference (NITIC) 2017 scheduled to hold this month in Abuja has been postponed.
The organisers, Africa International Trade and Development Trust,
said the postponement was due to ongoing repairs on the runway of the
Abuja airport.
The conference with the theme “Multiple Frontiers: Moving Away From
Oil” is aimed at bringing local and international stakeholders together
to discuss international trade and investment in the non-oil sector, focusing on agribusiness, manufacturing and financial services.
The event endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development initially scheduled to hold this month at the NAF Conference
Centre in Abuja would now take place in June at the same venue.
The spokesperson for the organisers, Sand Mba Kalu said: “Efforts to
convince registered participants and embassies to use the Kaduna
International Airport were not successful. We have talked to several of
them but they seemed not interested in coming through Kaduna airport.
So, the only option was to postpone the event to June when renovation
work at the Abuja airport runway would have been completed.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Aviation School Project has commenced
the training of all Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel in Nigeria.The
training, The Guardian learnt, is to effectively mitigate the threat
posed to civil aviation by terrorist organisations around the world. It
will also provide a key element for a robust national aviation security
policy to meet global standards in infrastructure, safety and security.
The initiative would enhance the capacity within the UN system to
help interested member states to implement the multiple dimension of
countering terrorism.
The 120-day event tagged: ‘’Train the Trainer’’ is simultaneously
ongoing in Lagos and Abuja.The UN-initiated programme comprises 34
aviation security personnel from both Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
(NCAA) and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). While NCAA
has four, FAAN which provides security surveillance at all the airports
has 30 participants.
The Spokesperson of the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, confirmed that a total
of 25 countries were considered and Nigeria was chosen for the pilot
training.
