Th e Nigerian Air Traffi c Controllers’ Association (NATCA) has lashed out at the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) for adopting deft tactics to evade payment of terminal and en-route navigational charges to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). In a statement jointly signed by NATCA President and General Secretary, Messrs Victor Eyaru and Alawode Banji respectively, the association said such payments will save the industry from impending collapse and enhance the agency’s capacity to discharge its responsibilities eff ectively. “Th e AON engaged NAMA in a legal battle on the payment of terminal navigational charges (TNC) and en-route navigational charges (ENC). Th is was fi nally laid to rest by the unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court on 28th February, 2014 in favour of NAMA. Till date, some members of the AON refused to obey the law of the land employing diff erent means to circumvent the judgment,” said NATCA.
It would be recalled that the registered trustees of AON (the appellant) commenced an action at the Federal High Court, Lagos against NAMA, seeking the interpretation of Section 7(1) (r) of NAMA (Establishment) Act Cap 90 LFN 2004 (‘the Act’) as to whether NAMA is entitled to impose domestic en-route charges on airline operators. Th e trial court gave judgment in favour of the appellant holding inter alia that NAMA had no statutory power to levy domestic enroute charges on Airline Operators. Th e decision was set aside upon an appeal by NAMA at the Court of Appeal, Lagos which held that NAMA is endowed with the powers to charge for en-route local facility charge. Th e foregoing decision prompted the appellant to appeal to the Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision in the case marked Registered Trustees of Airline Operators of Nigeria v Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (2014) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1408) 1 (SC), the court dismissed the appellant’s application and upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal wherein NAMA’s power to levy ‘domestic enroute charges’ in addition to ticket-sales charges was affi rmed. Th e Supreme Court stated inter alia ‘that if the intention of the law maker is that ‘enroute local facility charges’ should not be levied and collected by the Respondent (NAMA), provision would not have been made for its lodgement in a fund created under Section 11 of the Act wherein 30 per cent ticket sales charges which the Appellant conceded Respondent has the power to collect, are also paid into’.
NATCA stressed that the survival of the nation’s aviation industry can only be guaranteed if all stakeholders strictly play by the rules. It said payment of such charges would reduce the fi nancial burden on the federal government and encourage rapid development and renewal of facilities to enhance air safety and the quality of service delivery. “It is quite disheartening that some members of AON have refused to pay stipulated charges for the services they are provided with by the agencies. According to the enabling Act No.48 of 1999 part III Section 7 (a), NATCA said NAMA’s statutory obligation is to provide air traffi c management systems within the Nigerian airspace, adding that “as an internally generated revenue-sustaining agency, NAMA derives its funding from services rendered to airspace users as empowered by part V Section II (b) (i) of the same Act.”’’
