By Dickson Omobola

Following identical crashes experienced by Boeing aircraft in 2018, 2019 and issues surrounding its Starliner spacecraft, an aviation development practitioner, Anita Mendiratta, has urged Nigerians not to fret about the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed between Federal Government and the aircraft manufacturer.

Mendiratta said the deal was a positive one and explained that it would strengthen the overall ecosystem including airports, airlines, air traffic control, capacity building, managing supply chains and security among others.

Speaking on the Morning Show, an Arise TV programme, weekend, she argued that whatever Boeing has resolved to do with Nigeria, it has done with the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Australia and India.

Allaying Nigerians’ fears, Mendiratta said with the repositioning of its leadership, Boeing was  extremely serious about safety.

She said: “Boeing is taking very seriously the issues that it had with safety. A new Chief Executive Officer, CEO, has come in. Robert Ortberg (Kelly) decided to come in and take over from David Calhoun when he was leaving. This is important because the new CEO (Kelly) came in having left retirement. He heard a calling to step up and help the aviation industry in its recovery. That recovery is very much focused on safety, which is fantastic because that ultimately is what aviation will always be focused on as priority number one.

“It is good to know that we have Boeing, a manufacturer that understands African aviation better than most. It is going to be looking at not just unlocking the potential for Africa, but doing it with safety as an absolute priority and working with the Nigerian government to ensure that all aviation development is safe and secure, to ensure that ultimately it grows in a way that is truly sustainable.

“It is really wonderful that we have partners coming together and leaders coming together that are honest about the opportunity and also honest about the challenges and can speak about them openly. This is a very good thing because ultimately behind aviation, behind airlines and manufacturers are people and everyone wants to make sure that aviation, the ultimate link that connects all of us in the world, does so safely so that we can continue to fly with peace of mind to the people in places that we love and shipping the items that we need.”

On why the agreement was vital, she further said: “Nigeria needs to advance in aviation so Africa can advance in aviation. This is really excellent news and Boeing is absolutely the right partner for this. For all of its activity, Africa only represents two per cent of global trade when it comes to cargo and global travel when it comes to actual passenger movements.

“As much as Boeing has a lot going wrong, Boeing also does a lot right. Now, we need to keep in mind that Boeing is a carrier in terms of cargo, passengers and defence. Four out of 10 commercial aircraft that we see in the skies around the world are Boeing. Seven out of 10 in Africa are also Boeing aircraft.

“And over 22 countries rely on Boeing for over 1,500 aircraft around the continent. Boeing understands Africa. A world of nations have relied on Boeing for exactly this upliftment of the ecosystem that they are going to do with Nigeria, which really is a perfect fit for a partner.”