Expert urges House to compel FAAN to contribute 5% of commercial revenue to aviation safety fund

A former top official of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative has called on the House of Representatives to mandate the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to pay five per cent of its commercial earnings into the pool that funds the country’s aviation safety agencies.

John Ojikutu, who previously served as the group’s General Secretary, made the proposal in a submission to the House Committee on Aviation. He argued that the current formula for sharing the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge, Cargo Sales Charge, and Chartered Flights Charge is outdated and fails to reflect the actual workload and safety responsibilities of the various agencies.

The existing arrangement, he said, distributes funds among the NCAA, NAMA, NCAT, NSIB, and NiMet without a rational basis. Instead, the formula should consider each agency’s personnel strength, operational equipment, geographic coverage, hours of operation, and the specific safety duties assigned to it.

Ojikutu stressed that the five per cent charges were originally created to sustain mandatory aviation safety services, but he questioned whether the current distribution is still fit for purpose. Agencies with heavy safety responsibilities, he argued, should not be left short of funds while critical infrastructure, equipment, and staff need consistent investment.

His central proposal focuses on FAAN, which he said should no longer be viewed simply as an airport infrastructure manager. FAAN operates a wide range of commercial and non‑aeronautical services that generate significant revenue: passenger terminal services, landing and parking fees, cargo handling, car parks, toll gates, fuel sales, car hire, land and office rentals, shopping malls, restaurants, check‑in counters, aerobridges, VIP lounges, and other commercial activities within airport premises.

Since these services are part of the aviation ecosystem, Ojikutu argued, FAAN should contribute to the funding of the safety system that underpins all airport and flight operations. “The non‑aeronautical services that are mostly commercial operators’ services, which mainly are the airlines, cargo operators, etc., must necessarily include FAAN,” he said. “FAAN, being a commercial airport services operator, should contribute five per cent of its airport sales service charges into the general pool for aviation safety services.”

He also proposed a significant reallocation of the existing fund, recommending that NAMA’s share rise from 22 per cent to 40 per cent. NAMA, he noted, provides air traffic control and navigation services to commercial, private, government, diplomatic, and military aircraft, and its workforce includes over 800 controllers, more than 500 engineers and technologists, and over 1,000 administrative and support staff. Inadequate funding, he warned, could compromise the maintenance, replacement, and calibration of critical equipment.

For the NCAA, Ojikutu recommended capping its share at 40 per cent, down from its current 56 per cent. He pointed out that the regulator already has more than 15 other revenue sources beyond the five per cent safety charges, making a reduction justifiable.

The review, he concluded, should ensure that scarce safety funds are directed to agencies based on actual need and operational exposure, not by an outdated formula. The question, for Ojikutu, is not just about dividing revenue, it is about whether the agencies charged with keeping passengers, aircraft, and Nigerian airspace safe have the resources to do the job.