Stakeholders in the aviation industry on Thursday called for the closure of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa over safety concerns.
They pointed out that presently there is lack of critical infrastructure on the runway, which makes landing at the airport very difficult, especially in the night.
The stakeholders made the call at the second day of the ‘Industry Engagement on the Review of Accident Reports’ organised by the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N) and insisted that the number of serious incidents and accidents that have occurred at the airport over the years made the airport unsafe for flying.
Participants explained that the runway of the airport lacks critical facilities, including Instrument Landing System (ILS), which guides aircraft to land, low level wind shear indicators, which notifies the weather conditions, lack of comprehensive marking of the runway and taxiways, noting that the absence of these facilities hamper safe airline operation.
The stakeholders stressed that these facilities at the airport have been in poor state over the years and have regrettably contributed to loss of lives and equipment in the past accidents and incidents that have taken place at the airport.
They therefore called for urgent rehabilitation of the critical facilities and equipment that will enhance safe air operation.
One of the participants, an aviation agency official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told journalists that Port Harcourt Airport was a no go area for flight services in the night because, like most areas located in the delta or riverine areas, tall trees in the dark lead to the approach of the airport runway and as the pilot is guided to touch down he may miss the centre line of the runway in the night.
He added that the airport is located outside the city and villagers have free access to the facility due to lack of comprehensive security fencing.
One of the discussants and Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Capt. Ojikutu (rtd) in his contribution said that most of the accidents that happened at Port Harcourt airports were identical and preventable if the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other aviation agencies had performed their duties creditably.
Ojikutu also queried how often the calibration exercise of flying equipment at most of the nation’s airports to ascertain their safety conditions, especially the Port Harcourt airport is carried out, stating that calibration exercises is supposed to be carried out every six months.
“Necessary things are not always done when these serious incidents or accidents occur in the country. What is the category of ILS in Port Harcourt Airport? Whose responsibility is it to calibrate the ILS especially those in Port Harcourt Airport.
‘If it is a military environment, you can say they have signed to die, but what about the civilians? Most of the foreign registered aircraft that we are using for commercial flights who carry out due diligence on them? For how long are they supposed to remain in Nigeria flying? A lot are still needed to be done to sustain the safety we have in the industry,” he said.
Ojikutu called for periodic maintenance of the Port Harcourt airport runways to avoid accident in the sector.
Also, the management staff with AIB-N, Capt. Jide Bakare, recommended that NCAA should consider a mandated go-around policy for airlines in the sector to sustain safety in the industry.
When contacted about the safety situation at the Port Harcourt airport, an official from the Corporate Affairs of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), told THISDAY that for now no work was going on to improve the critical infrastructure at the airport.
