Women in Aviation hinges industry growth on regulatory reforms, inclusion
By Itohan Abara-Laserian
The Women in Aviation International (WAI), Nigeria Chapter, says the industry’s growth will depend on implementation of a single aviation charge regime, tax reforms and gender inclusion.
The President of WAI, Dr Rejoice Ndudinachi, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
Ndudinachi said the aviation industry required urgent policy interventions to reduce operational costs and enhance sustainability.
According to her, the reforms should include creation of a single-window regulatory framework for charges imposed by aviation agencies.
She said airlines were at the moment burdened by multiple charges from agencies such as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
She said that the situation contributed significantly to the high cost of doing business in the industry.
She advocated a harmonised system that would eliminate duplication of charges and improve efficiency in the aviation sector.
The president stressed the need for improved access to foreign exchange for airlines, noting that operators would require a dedicated forex window to facilitate repatriation of funds.
Ndudinachi said the approach would also help in the procurement of aircraft spare parts, fuel and other critical operational requirements.
She also called for tax incentives, including reduction of multiple agency levies and waiver of import duties on aircraft, spare parts and training simulators to lower costs and encourage investment.
She said infrastructure development remained a critical challenge, urging governments to rehabilitate runways, expand terminal capacities and ensure reliable power supply at airports.
According to her, reliable power supply will reduce heavy dependence on power generators and the associated fuel costs.
She said that governments should also look into Maintenance, Repairs and Overall (MRO) hubs by giving incentives to local maintenance facilities to avoid flying aircraft abroad for checks.
Ndudinachi acknowledged progress in female presence across various aviation professions, but said there were still limitations to the entry and advancement of women in the industry.
She identified workplace culture as a major challenge, citing demands of work shift, safety concerns and absence of some family-friendly policies.
She said that perception of aviation as a male-dominated industry had continued to discourage many girls from considering careers as pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers and aviation security professionals.
Ndudinachi identified cost of aviation training also as an obstacle, particularly for aspiring female pilots and engineers.
According to her, absence of dedicated financial support and scholarship opportunities for women limits their access to professional training and leadership development programmes.
She added that there was shortage of visible female role models and mentors across technical and leadership positions in the sector.
“There is need to tackle these challenges through greater incentives and deliberate policies. While progress has been made, barriers still exist,” she said.
The president said that the association had embarked on ‘building the next generation of female aviators’ with programmes aimed at inspiring and supporting girls interested in aviation careers.
She listed the initiatives to include Girls in Aviation programme designed to expose girls to aviation activities, and partnerships with training institutions to provide scholarship opportunities for aspiring female pilots and engineers.
She added that mentorship programmes linking students with female aviation professionals was among the initiatives.
