NAMA Installs Modern Navigational Aids at Lagos, Abuja Airports

Chinedu Eze

To overcome the challenges of adverse weather, including harmattan haze, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has started the installation of Category 3 Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the nation’s busiest airport in Lagos and Abuja.

CAT 3 ILS can guide airplanes on instrument flight to take off and land at the lowest visibility.

With the navigational aids, harmattan haze would not obstruct flights in these airports during the peak Yuletide seasons like in the previous years.

The Managing Director of NAMA, Capt Fola Akinkuotu, who disclosed this at the Airport Business Summit and Expo (ABSE) in Abuja, recently, said it was aimed at tackling the problem encountered by pilots during the harmattan season when trying to land.

Akinkuotu, said the installation of Doppler VOR (voice omnidirectional radio range) and distance measuring equipment were ongoing in 14 airports to replace the old ones.

According to the NAMA boss, multi-lateration system has been deployed to the Niger Delta region to take care of low-flying aircraft like helicopters in the area.

The agency said it had also installed back up radio in Kano and Lagos, remarking that vigorous trainings for air traffic controllers and engineers were being carried out in order to be abreast with current developments in airspace technology.

Akinkuotu, revealed that NAMA had taken steps to ensure seamless flight operations in the country’s airspace stressing that there has been significant improvement in air safety in Nigeria’s airspace.

He however noted that unmanned area remote vehicle remained a great challenge to air safety across the globe.

To continue to achieve a safe airspace, Akinkuotu urged the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to provide adequate lighting facilities at the airports while the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) must not relent in its oversight functions.