THE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has declared its intention  to discontinue the contractual agreements it has with any concessionaire that fails to add value to its operations.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi, disclosed this  during an interview session  with aviation journalists at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.

 Uriesi explained that the era where a concessionaire would wittingly deplete the revenue base of the agency was past even as he  warned that anyone coming with the intention of defrauding the agency would be dealt with according to the law.

While he appreciated the involvement of concessionaires  in the agency's operations and in moving the aviation sector forward, Uriesi pointed out that his management  was determined to ensure the nation's airports match the standards prescribed by the International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

His words: “ The airport manager has a lot of things to do and operates in an active environment where lots of things can happen. The concession model suggests that if a concessionaire wants to improve the financial wherewithal of the agency, I will happily give the facility to such concessioner. But if after giving a particular service or facility to a concessioner and our income reduces, that depicts fraud. We are dismantling them and we will use every legal means to dismantle them.

“The way forward is to develop an airport model that will improve the lots of the agency in particular and the lots of the Federal Government of Nigeria in general. This is what we will do and we are determined to do it well.”

Speaking on the absence of airfield lighting at the Lagos Airport Runway 18Left for over three years, Uriesi  described as shameful the inability of the successive managing directors of the authority to install airfield lighting on the runway since December 2008 despite various promises to that effect.

 He, consequently, promised to fix the lighting whenever the 2012 budget for the agency was approved by the National Assembly and assented to by the Federal Government.

He also apologised to the airlines and the public for the revenue losses due to the inability of the runway to perform night operations, saying that the airlines were daily burning aviation fuel that would have been used for flight operations.

“ It is an aberration and it is strange. Even when we tried to fix the lighting, we fumbled and nothing was done. But when the 2012 budget is approved, I promise to fix the airfield lighting. Whatever nonsense that has prevented us from fixing the runway lighting will be removed and we will do it. It is shameful to build a runway without lighting. I feel it and I apologise for it.

“This also applies to other airports in the country. It is a general shame and we would do something about them this year, he promised.”

On the perceived insecurity at the nations’ airports, especially at the international wing, Uriesi said FAAN was collaborating with other security agencies to address the situation even as he said it was impossible for the agency to handle the issue of security alone, hence the need for it to collaborate with other security outfits operating at the airports.

The FAAN boss however reiterated his determination to continue to provide the highest standard of security and safety to aircraft owners
and other users of airports nationwide.