The Federal Government has ordered a temporary halt to the collection of helicopter landing fees charged to oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria.
The directive was issued by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, after a meeting with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, and representatives from major oil industry groups in Abuja.
According to a statement released by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, the meeting brought together officials from the aviation and petroleum sectors to review concerns about the fee introduced by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) for helicopter operations linked to oil and gas activities.
Representatives from the petroleum industry warned that enforcing the fee could disrupt essential operations within the sector, particularly flights used to transport personnel and equipment to offshore facilities.
The charges apply to helicopter flights serving oil fields, rigs, terminals, floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, as well as helipads, heliports, airstrips and aerodromes connected to oil and gas operations.
Following discussions with stakeholders, Keyamo directed that enforcement and collection of the landing fees be suspended for an initial period of two months.
He also announced plans to establish an inter-ministerial committee made up of representatives from the aviation and petroleum ministries. The committee will examine the issues raised by stakeholders and recommend a framework that will be acceptable to all parties involved.
Officials who attended the meeting included the Managing Director of NAMA, Umar Farouk; the outgoing Permanent Secretary of the aviation ministry, Yakubu Adam Kofarmata; and representatives of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.
Also present were representatives from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Oil Producers Trade Section, and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group.
Both ministries reiterated their commitment to working together to ensure policies that support smooth operations in the aviation and oil industries, which play a major role in Nigeria’s economy.
