FG suspends helicopter landing fee enforcement for two months

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has announced a two month suspension on the enforcement of helicopter landing fees.

The announcement was made in a statement on the Minister’s X handle on Tuesday, March 10.

Keyamo explained that the decision followed a meeting on Monday in Abuja with representatives from the oil industry, led by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.

He further disclosed that the delegation also included the CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, along with members representing International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria, the OPTS, and IPPG.

In the statement, Keyamo said that he hosted Senator Lokpobiri and his team from the oil industry, including Mrs. Eyesan, who were accompanied by members representing the IOCs in Nigeria, the OPTS, and IPPG.

He added, “On my part, I was joined by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Aviation, the MD of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), officials from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and their teams.”

Keyamo noted that the oil industry team came to raise concerns regarding the enforcement of the helicopter landing fee prescribed by NAMA for the IOCs, covering all helicopter operations on oil fields, terminals, platforms, rigs, Floating Production Storage and Offloading units (FPSO), heliports, helipads, airstrips, and aerodromes. He explained, “Their concern is that the continued enforcement of the statutory fee may disrupt operations in the sector.”

After discussions, he said, “I directed a suspension of the enforcement of the collection of the fee for an initial period of two months, whilst we set up an inter-Ministerial committee to further deliberate on the issue and come up with an acceptable position to all parties.”