Local travel agencies’ll no more be frustrated if IATA complies with NCAA—Bankole
The President of the National Association Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Bernard Bankole, has welcomed the 60-day ultimatum handed down to unregistered travel agencies, who hide under the cover of some international airlines to amass the market at the detriment of legally registered agencies in Nigeria.
Recall that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), had on Tuesday, issued a 60-day ultimatum to all travel agents on the platform of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), to register with the apex regulator or face sanction.
With this development, it is now clear that every travel agency wishing to comply has to first of all become a member of NANTA which is a condition for attaining NCAA’s certificate of registration which is statutorily mandatory.
Analysts say, IATA members who had been claiming being superior to NANTA will now become members of NANTA and be guided by its rules of business engagements which will further create a level playing ground for all agencies whether indigenous or foreign.
Accordingly, NCAA has also directed IATA not to accredit any agency without NCAA’s certificate of registration, which on the other hand puts to end, the age long differences between IATA and NANTA operations.
Statistics from NCAA show that only 157 agencies have registered to date, with over 5000 others operating illegally, thus giving room for the ultimatum at a time NANTA, in collaboration with NCAA, had launched the Nigerian Travel Practitioners Identification Card (NTPIC), as part of the efforts to sanitise the industry.
In his remarks to explain the essence of the ultimatum, NCAA’s General Manager, Public Relations, Sam Adurogboye, made it clear that “Any travel agency operating in Nigeria that has not registered with the NCAA is clearly violating extant Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations”.
“The controversy in certain quarters of absence of legislation concerning the registration of travel agencies is misguided. For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) confers power on NCAA to register and issue certificates to travel agencies without which no travel agency shall operate in Nigeria.
“Part 18.9.1 (iii) of (Nig.CARs) that stated that no person shall undertake the business of travel agency in Nigeria without obtaining a certificate or license issued by the NCAA.
“As a corollary to the fore, Part 18.9.4.1 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) 2015 states that all travel agencies shall register with the authority after fulfilling the necessary requirements specified in IS18.9.1.2 (iii) to these regulations.
“The Civil Aviation Act 2006, Part IX, Section 30 (4) (a) inter-alia empowers the authority to regulate, supervise and monitor the activities of travel and other aviation agents operating in Nigeria.
Continuing, Adurogboye said “To join the IATA BSP, Part 18.9.4.2. of the NCARs states that All registered Travel Agencies shall join and trade on IATA Billing and Settlement Procedures (BSP) platform.“It is important to note that the fulfillment of the aforementioned regulation Part 18.9.4.1 is a mandatory requirement for IATA to accept a travel agency on its BSP platform. While making it clear that “It is after registration that a travel agent can commence business on the IATA BSP platform,” he added that “The NCAA is, therefore, taking concerted steps to instill sanity and orderliness into the operations of travel agencies in Nigeria. The authority will be collaborating with IATA to provide a robust regulatory oversight on this sector of aviation downstream operations.”
Besides, checks at the Lagos Airport, venue of the mass action against NCAA by some aviation unions on Wednesday showed that the protest has nothing to do with the conditions given to IATA members to align with the Standard Operating Systems (SOP) of the regulatory agency but on internal issues bordering on the new organogram approved for the agency by the Federal Government.
The protesting unions included Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE). Others are the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE).
Business Hilights gathered that the unions had blocked the entrances of the NCAA headquarters and its annex office, chanting solidarity songs with placards saying “Collapse organogram structure’’, “Our Mumu don dooo’’ and “Our demands: expanded organogram, staff, friendly condition of service, negotiated staff health and insurance policy”.
