THE Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is to commence a 24-hour service in three airports in the country from March this year.
The Managing Director of NAMA, Nnamdi Udoh, made the disclosure in Abuja at the weekend, just as he explained that the agency would open its round the clock flight operations in Yola, Owerri and Enugu airports after full installation of air field lightings.
Udoh revealed that NAMA would negotiate with airport authority and airline operators wishing to operate night flights at the airports.
“The reason why I think there is nothing wrong in creating 24 hours operation, where there are no 24 hours operations, if you are coming late, you pay NAMA money but if I make it 24 hours, I want to think that more planes will come and pay us more money. We are going to make all these airports 24 hours from March when the manpower is available”
“There will be NOTAM for the airports. Critical among them is Yola, Owerri and Enugu, we want to do that so that the airlines can schedule their operations. We will talk with them and find out which airport they want and any airport any operator wants will be available 24 hours. There is no point keeping it open and we don’t use it because most of those airports run on diesel,” he noted.
On communications, the NAMA boss explained further: “Today, the total VHF Coverage is finished, we are just transiting from the old technology switching from one old system until finally everybody will smile. No more stories about TRACON, today is communication and tomorrow it may be AIS”.
According to Udoh, the Automatic Dependent Broadcast System (ADBS) will be installed in the Oceanic areas and in Niger Delta for Helicopters operations.
This, he would be followed by Data Link (Cockpit Pilot Controller Link) to assist Pilots with telex on board, adding that it would reduce voice communications between the pilot and control tower.
Udoh said radar has the capability of doing that. “Like an helicopter flying from Port Harcourt to Omagwa in oil fields, pilots needs ADSB to monitor at low level like that”
He announced that the agency was still looking at multi-lateration for Zaria due to the availability of small trainee aircraft for the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology.
He said the technology could also be used for surveillance to ascertain the position of the planes.
Meanwhile, rehabilitation work at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu is to be completed in March.
The Airport Manager, Chigbo Nwobu, who disclosed this when the National Good Governance Tour team visited the facility in Enugu, said that after the upgrading of the airport to international status, construction would commence to put the necessary facilities to make it a reality.
He observed that the control tower, which is as old as the airport, has been refurbished with new equipment restored.
Nwobu stated that the National Airspace Management Agency(NAMA) has all the facilities needed for hitch-free operation and solicited federal government’s intervention in the provision of uninterrupted power supply to the airport.
“It is capital intensive to run our generator continuously, we want the federal government to assist in the provision power supply or provide more funds to run our generator, which we rely more on. The facilities radios, vhf radios, and we have eye lenses for the landing system, these are the facilities of NEMA within here.
[Guardian]
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