By Akoma Chinweoke
The assistant secretary general of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji, Mohammed Tukur has appealed to airline operators in the country to embrace dialogue in resolving the controversial air terminal navigational charges as a way of encouraging the wind of change blowing in the sector

Tukur who disclosed this in Lagos in an interview said the adoption of the “pay as you go” method on terminal navigational charges (TNC) by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency is to ensure that new debts are not accumulated by the airlines and that they pay for services rendered to them as they operate .

He also said the airlines should comply with the new directive adding that they have a responsibility to protect the industry.

“Frankly speaking, the aviation industry does not need any confrontation. What we need is dialogue. So, my appeal to all members and leaders of AON is to know that the wind of change is blowing and there is no need for any confrontation within this sector.

We have a duty to protect it. We have a listening minister and we have seen results. We should therefore help her to succeed in order for her to assist us.” he said.

He noted that it is heart warming that 99 percent of the airlines have already paid and collected their receipt for services rendered to them by NAMA and continued their operations uninterrupted pointing out that everything in life is give and take.

It would be recalled that some passengers were left stranded at the airport over a face off in the country’s aviation sector as AON, the umbrella body of domestic airlines, failed to comply with the pay-as-you-go method introduced by NAMA.

Besides, the operators argued that the charges were illegal, and that the issue of payment was under litigation. But NAMA’s managing director, Ibrahim Auyo, insisted that “the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) says that an agency must charge for the services rendered.