A quiet standoff unfolded between the aviation ministry and helicopter operators, who unanimously rejected a $300 landing fee ordered by the minister, Festus Keyamo, forcing the government to redirect the controversial charge to oil companies instead, writes OLASUNKANMI AKINLOTAN
A silent battle has been brewing between the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and airline operators over the controversial $300 helicopter landing fee, as newly instructed by the Minister, Festus Keyamo.
The case seems to have degenerated to a level where the operators and the Minister now smile at each other at events for photo ops.
The operators refused the payment and stood their ground despite the Minister’s several attempts. When dissatisfied operators meet him at various forums, they laugh and exchange warm pleasantries as if there were nothing to worry about.
In 2024, the Aviation Ministry had mandated helicopter operators to pay a $300 landing charge to be collected by a contractor, NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited, on behalf of the Federal Government.
A memo emanating from the Ministry mandated helicopter operators to pay the landing fee at all Nigerian aerodromes, helipads, airstrips, floating production storage and offloading units, floating storage and offloading units, and other oil platforms.
During former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited received approval from the Federal Government through the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to collect the new landing fee from oil and gas service providers, but the idea was killed following the operators’ refusal.
But while trying to reintroduce and implement the payment, Keyamo was at loggerheads with the operators, who threatened legal action if the charge was not immediately suspended.
In the wake of criticisms, the government, through the office of the Minister, ordered the suspension of the controversial fee.
Taking a second shot at the matter, the Minister again, in 2025, reintroduced the suspended charge, causing another stir in the industry.
Enforcing the Minister’s directive, NAMA on Tuesday, June 24, published an advertorial, giving the affected operators seven days to comply.
In the notice titled ‘Enforcement of Helicopter Landing Levies for Air Navigation Services in Oil Fields, Terminals, Rigs, Floating Production Storage and Offloading Units, Helipads, Airstrips, and Aerodromes,’ NAMA stressed the need for full compliance with the provision of the NAMA on the prompt payment of helicopter landing levies for air navigation services rendered by the Agency within the Nigerian airspace and covered operations at oil field terminals, platforms, rigs, floating production storage and offloading units, helipads, airstrips, and aerodromes.
It explained that since 2022, the agency, in partnership with Naebi Dynamic Concepts Limited, has consistently issued multiple written communications to engage oil and gas operators on the statutory provisions of the NAMA Act.
According to the agency, “These proactive efforts have not yielded the desired compliance, due to the influence of certain individuals who have worked with them against adherence to established regulatory requirements.”
The statement stated that “it is important to emphasise that the enforcement of helicopter landing levies aligns with global best practices and is currently implemented across International Civil Aviation Organisation member states in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.”
Meanwhile, in response to the call, Airline Operators of Nigeria, the umbrella body for local airline operators in the country, has said, aside from lacking a legal framework, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency does not provide any additional service to helicopter operators to justify the imposition of another landing fee.
The operators lamented that it had already been overtaxed, a development they said was affecting their existence as a business in the country.
Various operators who spoke with our correspondent submitted that the helicopter company already pays a navigational fee to NAMA and also pays owners of the facilities at every landing time, thereby expressing confusion about the reason for the latest charge.
The body for scheduled and unscheduled airlines in Nigeria stressed that the imposition of the Helicopter Landing and Take-off Fee at private helipads and oil rig platforms when no service is provided at those locations to the helicopter operators by NAMA is contrary to the provision of section 7 (1) (r) of the then applicable NAMA Act as well as to section 1, paragraph 2(1) of ICAO Document 9082.
Spokesman for AON, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, alleged that NAMA did not adhere to the policies, principles, and guidelines contained in the ICAO Documents 9082 (ICAO’s Policies on Charges for Airports and Air Navigation Services) and 9161 (Manual on Air Navigation Services Economics) before imposing the Helicopter Landing and Take-off Fee.
Quoting Part 18, section 18.8.1.1 (e) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, AON asked NAMA to adhere to the policies, principles, and guidelines contained in those documents.
After all attempts to impose the charge on the operators failed, the Minister, during a discussion with our correspondent over the phone, announced that the charge had now been shifted to the helicopters’ passengers, particularly the oil companies, following the operators’ unified opposition.
NAMA also announced that the passengers would be responsible for the landing fee.
In a statement, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of NAMA, Abdullahi Musa, noted that the collectors will henceforth strictly invoice oil companies directly while excluding helicopters operated by Airline Operators of Nigeria.
The NAMA publicist said, “The Federal Government has lifted the temporary suspension on enforcement granted to Messrs. Naebi Dynamics Concepts Ltd., consultants for the collection of helicopter landing charges for air navigation services related to helicopter operations by oil companies in the Gulf of Guinea.”
According to the statement, the ministerial directive on the matter obliged Messrs Naebi Dynamics Concepts Ltd to immediately resume collection of levies related to air navigation services for helicopter operations by oil companies at fields, platforms, terminals, rigs, floating production, storage and offloading, heliports, helipads, and aerodromes in line with its contract.
Efforts to get a response from oil sectors at press time were unsuccessful, as spokespersons neither took their calls nor responded to text messages on the development.
Meanwhile, an impeccable source at SHELL told our correspondent that the company once mulled a response regarding the development, which it later suspended, claiming that “the issue was unthinkable.”
The PUNCH gathered from different sources in the oil companies that the notice directed at them will be ignored, as they are unwilling to pay the charge.
Some of them who spoke with our correspondent questioned the government shifting such a charge from the operators to them, insisting that such a charge has nothing to do with them.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors, Capt. Ado Sanusi, has called on the Federal Government to withdraw the payment of the new landing fee, insisting that there was no ground for the charge.
Sanusi, a known antagonist of the payment, said, “My understanding is that today, if the government allows it, charging $300 on helicopters per landing, tomorrow another will come and say that it is $500. And maybe next year somebody will come and say, Okay, it’s $1000 per landing.”
Sanusi, who was the former Managing Director of NAMA, said the reason oil and gas companies may have refused the payment of the fee could be because they know there is no basis for it.
Three other operators, who spoke in confidence to avoid victimisation, described the charge as an outright fraud and an attempt to extort operators. One of the operators questioned the basis for the payment, saying it was an outright disregard of the ICAO rules and principles.
“It is illegal, it is unprecedented, and it is clearly a violation of ICAO rules and guidelines. It is like someone asking you to pay for parking your car in your garage,” one of the operators said.
Responding, industry expert John Ojikutu questioned the government’s intention to take levies from the operators when it doesn’t own any of the helipads or heliports.
He said, “Which levy and which government are shifting whatever levy to the oil companies? Is the government the owner of the helipads? If I have a helipad in my house, would the government have the right to collect a landing fee in my house, other than the navigational charges on the helicopter to my house? Would the government be collecting landing fees on ships or buildings like the Shell building at Marina, as it was over 30 years ago? If you don’t know what you are looking for, you can never find it.”
Also contributing to the discussion, a pilot, Capt. Muhammed Badamosi, said until the government explains convincingly the reason for the charge, stakeholders may not agree to pay.
The expert insisted that until the government explained the reason for the charge, it might also be impossible to blame the operators for refusing to pay.
His words, “The government will have to prove the reason for the charge. The operators believe they are already overtaxed, stressing that if the new charge were to add up to what they already pay, then the burden of proof is with the government.
“As a matter of fact, it’s difficult for me to believe that operators are doing the right thing by refusing to comply. I would only be able to choose a position when the government explicitly explains the reason for the money. They can’t just come to say helicopters should start paying a $300 charge; there must be a reason, and that is what we all should wait for.”
