Bi-Courtney faults claims on regional operations

Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), on Thursday, faulted the claims in some quarters that insufficient space for parking aircrafts was delaying the commencement of international operations at its terminal.

It says the size of its apron is enough to park the number of aircraft that operate and would operate there.
BASL had obtained authorisation from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to commence regional operations at MMA2 as set out in the concession agreement between the two, but this still requires regulatory approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) before commencing operations.

BASL in a statement signed by Remi Ladigbolu, its spokesman, said the delay in obtaining NCAA’s approval had nothing to do with the size of its apron or any other operational issue.

It added that various teams of inspectors from NCAA and other statutory agencies, including the Department of State Security (DSS), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Port Health Service supervised its preparation for the international operations to ensure that it complied with all the requirements.

It noted that all these agencies have also deployed their personnel at the terminal in readiness for the commencement of international operations, while the interior ministry had already accorded MMA2 the status of an entry point into the country.

The statement reads: “We don’t have any issue with parking space for aircrafts.