Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two in Lagos, has proposed a real-time airport collaboration platform that would bring airlines, air traffic controllers, ground handlers and other aviation stakeholders together to tackle flight delays and cancellations.
The company’s Chief Operating Officer, Remi Jibodu, disclosed the plan on Tuesday at the 22nd edition of the Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos.
Jibodu said the proposed platform would provide a common channel for key operators to exchange operational information, identify emerging disruptions and make joint decisions before routine delays escalate into prolonged passenger inconvenience or cancellations.
He explained that disruptions in air travel rarely originate from one point in the aviation chain. A flight may be ready for departure, yet congestion on a taxiway, runway or aircraft parking area can prevent it from leaving on schedule.
“The truth about it is that so many things contribute to delay and cancellation. And usually, not the airports, not the airlines alone, but there are so many other things that contribute to delay,” Jibodu said.
He said airports play a central role in providing infrastructure and facilities, but cannot independently determine whether an airline will meet its scheduled departure time.
The BASL executive consequently stressed the need to treat airlines as active operational partners rather than merely tenants within airport facilities.
He said the relationship between carriers and airports should be built around continuous coordination because the performance of one component can quickly affect the entire flight operation.
Jibodu also placed the passenger experience at the centre of the proposed arrangement. He noted that a traveller’s journey begins before reaching the terminal, from purchasing a ticket and interacting with an airline’s website to arriving at the airport and proceeding through the various stages of departure.
The proposed mechanism is therefore intended to improve communication before disruptions become visible to passengers. Early information sharing could allow stakeholders to adjust operations collectively instead of responding separately after a delay has already occurred.
Jibodu also called for tighter coordination between airport operators and airlines during peak travel periods, when increased aircraft movements can place additional pressure on available facilities.
The proposal came as other airline executives at the event outlined the operational calculations involved in keeping flights on schedule.
ValueJet Chief Operating Officer Henry Trevor said airlines attach significant importance to On-Time Performance, but several processes must be completed before an aircraft can depart.
According to Trevor, flight schedules take into account factors such as flight duration, turnaround time, aircraft readiness, crew availability and airport congestion.
He explained that airlines deliberately build some allowance into their schedules to absorb foreseeable operational disruptions. Safety, however, takes precedence when circumstances threaten the secure operation of a flight.
United Nigeria Airlines Chief Operating Officer Adedayo Adewuyi similarly identified technical difficulties, adverse weather, airport congestion and limitations in airport infrastructure as factors capable of disrupting schedules.
Adewuyi said an airline’s first priority should be safe and timely operations, but safety considerations could require a departure to be delayed or an aircraft to return to its origin.
He cited situations where deteriorating weather or conditions at a destination airport make landing unsafe. In such circumstances, he said, operational decisions are taken primarily to protect passengers and crew.
The positions presented at the travel market highlight the complex chain behind flight punctuality. An aircraft can be serviceable, its crew available and passengers ready, yet conditions elsewhere in the airport system can still interrupt its movement.
Bi-Courtney’s proposed platform is designed to address that interdependence by creating a structure through which stakeholders can share information and coordinate responses in real time.
If implemented, the arrangement would shift part of the response to flight disruptions from individual operators to coordinated decision-making among the different organisations involved in an aircraft’s journey.
The proposal now places collaboration at the centre of efforts to improve punctuality and reduce the passenger disruption associated with domestic flight delays and cancellations.
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