Felix Hyat, Minister of State for
Transport
(Aviation)
THE computerisation
of Murtala
Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos will be completed by the end of this month.
Managing Director of Maevis Nigeria, the company handling the installation of the equipment, Tunde Fagbemi has said.
He said that full suit Airport Operations Management System (AOMS), Airport Operations Database (AODB), Core room and the Electronic Funds Transfer (ETF) platform were ready for installation at the terminal.
Fagbemi stated that the completion of identity Card, known as Aviation card, which will enable passengers check flights and pay electronically was underway.
The AODB, when installed, would allow the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to electronically know the actual weight of an aircraft, the time of arrival and departure of any aircraft thereby assisting the authority to get the exact amount it wants to collect as revenue.
He added that the company has created a disbursement center abroad which will be replicated in Lagos, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Port Harcourt International Airport and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano .
The ETF allows consumers transact business in any area it is set up and handling agencies, for instance, can pay FAAN as at when due.
Unlike now when the authority is owed close to N7.8m, it would immediately track down any person or company who uses its services at the airports.
With the aviation card, which would have features such as passenger’s finger print; photograph and other data for identification, data base of the cards will be in the custody of FAAN and once it is issued for any passenger it becomes a pre-condition for boarding flights.
The possession of the card is optional but enhances seamless travel.
“We can begin to revolutionise how we travel, the way we travel will now change materially”, said Fagbemi.
Any airport wishing to operate with the cards would be compliant with international regulations because one can sit in his house and print out boarding pass, and, in case of accident, the passenger is easily identified because he alone has the unique features embeded in the card, the airports will now be facility foolproof and customer friendly.
The use of the card will eliminate queues at specific spots because checking in process will be quicker as manual activity will significantly reduce.
With the card, passengers will no longer cash money at the payment desk because money will be contained in the card and it will be moved to the airline’s coffers electronically in seconds.
“We think that the customer will be better served with this card. You need not carry cash anymore; you need not worry about identifying yourself. If you are going to board a flight, the card will be useful in confirming that the man who said he is flying is actually the person who is flying and the one who said he is flying actually has a valid ticket to fly. In identifying yourself with the card, when you get there, put your finger print and it identifies you and you pass. This takes seconds and you need not talk to anybody. So we are not saying it is compulsory but everybody ought to make it his choice”, he said.
The whole system also include changing of the check-in desks which will become operational soon.
