SAHCO handles 56m tonnes of cargo in 6 months

The Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc, on Tuesday said it handled over 56 million tonnes of cargo in the last six months.

Its Manager, Corporate Communications, Mrs Adetola Uansohia, disclosed this to News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Lagos during an interview on the operations of the organisation.

She said the priority of the organisation was to render professional aviation ground handling services to its clients.

“We employ the use of latest technology in all our services which include but are not limited to cargo and warehousing, passenger handling, ramp handling and other related aviation handling services to ensure excellent deliveries.

“We operate in a highly regulated sector. There are many government and international agencies who regulate our activities to ensure safety and efficiency in our operations.

“We and the government are partners in progress,” she said.

Uansohia said the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) play a very pivotal role in the company’s operations through its regulatory role within the aviation sector.

She said some of the roles included monitoring of aircraft operating environment for safety and security, regulating of methods of entry and conduct of air transport business, among others.

“Since we operate within the environment, we are subject to NCAA’s regulations,” she said.

Uansohia, however, said there were challenges confronting SAHCO which required government’s urgent attention.

“Aviation ground handling companies are not paid the right charges for services rendered, sometimes we have to give discounts so as to keep our customers satisfied.

“Also there is need for the government to look into removing the tariffs on equipment just like they do for airlines.

“Another cause for concern is the inadequate airport infrastructure which has necessitated us to sometimes provide these facilities so as to ease operational services,” she said.

She said for the past few months,the company had solely relied on generators for operations.

“Though it is really encouraging to see that the government has renovated some of the airports like in Lagos and Abuja but because SAHCO operates from all the commercially operated airports in Nigeria, we still need more to be done.”

On how SAHCO sustained profitability in spite of the odds, Uansohia said the company maintains high integrity and ensures it exceeds customer expectations.