Travel agencies seek NCAA’s support to give quality service to travelling public
The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) on Thursday urged the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to give utmost support to its members to deliver qualiltative service to the travelling public.
Member of the NANTA National Executive Council, Mr Bankole Bernard made the call during the symposium session of the association’s 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Kano.
The AGM had the theme: “Antitrust: Opportunities Available for Protection of the Nigeria Travel Market.”
Bernard said that although NANTA had enjoyed some level of support from NCAA which had been its major regulator over the years, more needs to be done by the Authority.
He said there had been issues of which organisation bears the Value Added Tax (VAT) of businesses done by members of the association.
“The debate of who bears the VAT had been between NANTA and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which NCAA ought to have resolved,” Bernard said.
He noted that NANTA being a downstream sector in the aviation industry must be carried along in major decision making in the industry to enable members deliver qualitative services to customers.
“This and a whole lot of issues had been on ground which the NCAA must wade into promptly, travel agents should be given access into the airports because we are also registered members of the NCAA and not louts.
“NANTA is a downstream sector in the aviation industry, our regulators should have indepth understanding of our operations including the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
“We need our regulators to protect us so that we can protect our consumers, we seek more protection to operate optimally.
“We want our regulators to ensure our needs are met to ensure the interest of the consumers are protected because we are the right channel through which consumers’ interest can be protected,” he said.
In his response, Capt. Musa Nuhu, NCAA Director-General, assured NANTA of the Authority’s support.
Nuhu explained that a lot had been done to protect the interest of NANTA members, without the notice of the general public.
“We will find lasting solutions to most of the issues raised, we need to work together as a team to proffer solutions to the issues on ground.
“We will be having a quarterly meeting with our stakeholders in the industry and look at how we can develop a committee to resolve issues and the next meeting will hold in 2 weeks time.
“We need to maintain the proficiency and efficiency of the industry, so that investors in the industry can yield the benefits of their investments while we maintain the laws of the land.
“We also need your suport, we cannot do it alone, we are only business enablers and we are partners in progress,” he said.
Also, Mr Babatunde Irukera, Director-General, FCCPC, said Nigeria is endowed with a robust aviation industry but with an immature market.
He added that NANTA had a lot to do in ensuring that the market improved.
Irukera, however, urged NANTA to intensify efforts to engage government and other regulatory bodies to make the aviation market thrive optimally.
Mrs. Susan Akporiaye, NANTA National President, disclosed that NCAA had given approval to the association to set up a compliance committee to observe and monitor travel agents’ operations in order to curb illegal activities.
According to her, the compliance committee will ensure the protection of laws.
