Okowa Vindicated on Asaba Airport Concession With ILS Verification, Others

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Asaba Airport has taken a giant step towards enhancement of airlines’ safety confidence as well as increased traffic owing to improved international flight operations, with the successful verification of the installed Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the airport. 

Managing Director of the Asaba Airport Company, Mr. Christophe Penninck, who stated this while speaking with journalists during the ILS functionality verification exercise at the airport, which was witnessed by Nigeria’s aviation authority and environmental safety officials. 

According to him, with the successful verification of the calibration of the ILS, airlines would be able to land at the Asaba airport even under poor weather conditions up to 800 meters.

The Asaba Airport Company chief executive officer observed that the verification done with the aid of a drone was the first of its kind in the country, noting that it gives a more accurate data without any disruption to traffic or flight cancellations.

Moreover, the NAMA would formally carry out the calibration and certification following the successful verification of the ILS, he revealed, noting that the company had to fly in experts from Spain and South Africa for the verification process.

Penninck said, “The ILS was installed a long time ago (by the original contractors, U.L.O.) but was never used because we couldn’t calibrate it; but what we have done in the past weeks is that we invited specialists that know how to tune the equipment. 

“It is specially used in low visibility conditions and this means that in the past when we had flight cancellations during harmattan or raining or wet season.

“During Harmattan and the rainy season we will not have flight cancellations anymore except it goes below the very minimal level. 

“The equipment was installed prior to our arrival and in order to make sure that the equipment is really well tuned we invited the company from Spain to do a verification with the drone because it gives a more accurate reading than an aircraft. 

“The specialist arrived a few days ago and with the four flights we have done we are actually spot on and on perfect angle. 

“When the NAMA aircraft will be available to do the calibration we will pass it with 100 per cent, which means that in the near future we will have a finally calibrated ILS in Asaba Airport. This will also make us the first airport in this region that will enable us to fly in an aircraft during deteriorated weather conditions. 

“We intend to build the traffic here from early morning to late at night and also aiming at getting international flights here, but without properly calibrated and certified equipment it’s not possible. 

“So, we are actually doing step-by-step upgrading of the facilities at the airport to have more traffic and to give Asaba the opportunity to develop to be the gateway to the South-South. 

“It requires a lot of money and work but we are confident that by the end of this year a lot of things would have changed.”

In his remarks, Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, commended the Asaba Airport Company management for the giant strides recorded within barely one year of its operations, adding that the feat underscores the wisdom of the Okowa administration in concessioning the Asaba airport last year. 

Aniagwu said, “I am happy that a whole lot of changes have happened in this airport, which justifies government’s decision to concession the airport. 

“We have witnessed the stream of successes with such space of time, starting from the volume of traffic you have increased, bringing the airport to profitability and to the calibration of the instrument landing system ILS. When we installed the ILS then we couldn’t calibrate it but you have done that within a short period of time. 

“We are quite pleased that we took the decision to concession the airport and it is our hope that in a short while many of those goals we have set for ourselves while concessioning this airport would have been realised.

“What we are witnessing today goes to show that the decision to handover the airport to professional managers is a very patriotic decision and we are proud to have taken that decision. 

“Moreover, you have helped us to reduce unemployment by employing many of our people; and, we have also seen the traffic lights you installed along the Benin-Asaba Expressway. 

“Our airport is now ranking far above its contemporaries with larger number of traffic and more navigational facilities and we look forward to the real intent to make it an international hub for the South-south and a number of states in this country.”