2012 was a challenging year – Skyway MD

By LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE

Managing Director, SkyWay Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL), Mr. Olu Owolabi, has said that despite the giant stride recorded in 2012, the company faced a lot of challenges because of the turbulence witnessed in the aviation industry.

Though the company had new clients like Etihad, Med-View, the crash of Dana Air in June and the collapsed of Air Nigeria resulted in loss of confidence in aviation industry and subsequent loss of revenue by the company compared to 2011.

Mr. Owolabi made these revelations while briefing aviation reporters on the planned activities of the company for the year 2013 and reviewing the operations of the company in the preceding year.

He said that the company recorded major successes in terms of acquiring new equipment that will enhance their operation for the coming years.

He further revealed that the multimillion naira warehouse project the company is building is 70 percent near completion.

Though he did not give the exact amount the company had spent so far on the project, sources revealed that the company has put in hundreds of millions of naira into the construction of the warehouse that will be one of the biggest and best in West Africa.

According to him, “I can’t give the exact amount so far spent because the project is still on-going. Millions of naira has been put into the project and until it is completed, one cannot say for certain how much it has cost”

Mr. Owolabi further said that emphasis will be on staff training and retraining this year so as to position the company to meet the challenges of providing efficient handling services to their existing clients and the new entrants into the aviation industry this year.

‘’So staff will be sent on training programmes to South Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America on how to handle the new equipment the company has purchased to enhance its operation and render efficient services.