The regional representative of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Albert Taylor, has explained why the body through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has not certified any of the nation’s airports.
Taylor made this known at the Conference on Runway Safety organized by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in Lagos on Monday and explained that none of the airports has met ICAO safety standard but commended Nigeria for the efforts it has made so far to close the open items or meet the requirements in order for the airport to be certified.
When international airports like that of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano have not been certified there are categories of aircraft that would not be allowed to operate from such airports and some international airlines may not approve their aircraft to operate to such airports.
Non-certification of airports means that such airports may have safety breaches or the facilities have not met given standards.
Taylor explained that some airlines that operate into the country had complained about the shortcoming of the airport runways of the country’s major airports and said that efforts are already being made to rectify these problems or close the open items.
“I think the requirements for certification are published and are known to each member state. The requirements are very comprehensive. In many other areas, we know Nigerian has made giant progress, but for this runway safety, we have complaints from some of the airlines operating from Nigeria. So what we need is for a need for improvement, so it is important to come together with the airlines and remind ourselves of the things that are required. We can have reports from outside, but when you come here we put our minds together and come up with a plan of action and address these problems.
“So having the know-how and the knowledge and the tools we go to the field and at the end of this workshop we go and see things ourselves. It is better than seeing things from outside; we can establish teams for each of the four major airports, Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt. And these teams will be equipped with knowledge and skills and kits you have to use to solve all the given problems in order to go through successful certification,” Taylor said.
He said the problems with the runways are not critical issues that cannot be addressed, adding that Nigeria has the capacity to do that.
“We will be going to the airports to see things critically to see what needs to be done. The certification will be done by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. So we all come in to help NCAA to do its work,” Taylor also said.
Speaking on behalf of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Director of Operations, Captain Henry Omeogu, said the agency has decided to concentrate on airport development on runway and provision of airfield lighting and bulbs to enhance safety.
“We don’t have any problem with airfield lighting; it is just that we have few issues that we are addressing and they are part of the certification process and these include replacing some bulbs which we are doing right now and some of these bulbs are at the centerline. We are concentrating on the Lagos airport right now. As you are aware, we are certifying the airports right now. We are supposed to have faced the ICAO safety audit in November but they moved it to March, which is the date they have given us and we are working assiduously to conclude everything in February and prepare them for March,” Omeogu said.
In his opening speech, the Managing Director of NAMA, Ibrahim Abdulsalam disclosed that over 50 per cent of global aviation fatal accidents are runway related, “that ICAO via Resolution A37-6, mandated state, to ensure the effective establishment of runway safety teams at all international airports.”
