A new Aircraft Maintenance Organisations (AMOs), Badus Aviation, which will service private jets in Nigeria and West Africa, has said that it has the potential to save the country an average of $1billion yearly.
The accountable manager of the facility, Kolade Olawale, a former staff of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said the numerous opportunities that would be created by the AMO especially in the area of job creation and foreign direct investment into the country is the motivation for the establishment of the organisation.
Nigeria currently has few AMOs and Olawale said that the addition of Badus would boost local capacity, especially for Cessna, Challenger and Hawker aircraft as statistics show that the cost of maintenance of local commercial airplanes costs Nigeria over one billion dollars in capital flight yearly. He said that more than 50 per cent of aircraft in the AMO’s competency areas are in the country, therefore, a huge cost saving benefit to have the service locally.
Olawale said Badus Aviation, which is located close to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, has been certified as an Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), with registration number AMO/5N/BGA to conduct A to F Line Maintenance on Cessna, Challenger and Hawker airplanes.
“There are also over a hundred (of such aircraft) in West Africa. So, with Badus Aviation’s emergence in the country, 20 to 30 per cent of funds spent by operators to maintain their aircraft outside the country would be saved.
“There are a lot of opportunities in the aviation industry, which we are yet to harness. I discovered overtime that a lot of our big men have aircraft of various types and usually take their aircraft out of Nigeria for maintenance. Yet, we have a lot of indigenous engineers that are capable and well-trained but they don’t have the opportunities of doing the job in Nigeria. In view of this, I decided to invest in the industry so as to create jobs, enable our indigenous engineers to perform and to reduce the rate of moving jets out of Nigeria for maintenance.
“We only need a better working environment and availability of foreign exchange to purchase the spares. Aviation is too important to be ignored by the government. The operators need foreign exchange to operate and I believe the government should pay attention to that critical demand. That way, it is surely going to be a win-win for all of us, especially the Nigerian economy,” he said.
Don-Felix Alegbeleye who is the Base Line Maintenance Manager for the facility said that the AMO also has a partnership with the Air Force Hangar in Lagos to conduct maintenance services, adding that they went through the rigorous five phases of the certification process, lasting 16 months.
“With our aim achieved, we would be able to fulfill the mission, vision and work at being among the best AMOs not only in Nigeria, but in the African region as well,” Alegbeleye said.
Source: sunnewsonline.com