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Poor weather condition yesterday made it difficult for airlines to carry out their normal flight operations.
BusinessDay’s checks show that the poor visibility made it difficult for some airlines to land, while others were forced to either cancel flight or delay flight operations.
An airport official who craved anonymity told BusinessDay that mostly Lagos flights were affected as airlines had to apologise to passengers as a result of the effect of the whether condition on flight operations.
It would be recalled that Nogie Meggison, chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), explained that in 1968, the first aircraft operated at CAT lll and landed in zero (0) visibility at Heathrow Airport, yet Nigeria was unable to land aircraft with visibility of about 800m.
“This is very unfair to operators who cannot charge passengers for the extra cost the airline has to bear on return or cancelled flights, and we have to feed and lodge them in a hotel.
“NAMA and the Federal Airports Authority Nigeria (FAAN) need to be more responsible to ensure that our airports are equipped with the right landing aids to allow 24 hours operations in any weather condition,” he said.
In a bid to key into the recent executive order by the Federal Government on the ease of doing business in the country, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has begun its immediate implementation with Fola Akinkuotu, managing director, driving the process.
In a statement, Akinkuotu noted that in order to beat the June 8 deadline for full implementation, the agency had already updated its website showing the requirements, conditions and procedures for doing business or obtaining services in NAMA including all fees and timelines necessary for the processing of applications for the services.
He also disclosed that the agency shall be organising workshop sessions to adequately enlighten and sensitize both staff and industry stakeholders on the essence and imperative of the executive orders adding that the agency shall also be collaborating with other aviation agencies with a view to harmonizing processes in order to achieve the single user interface at the airports as directed by the federal government.
Akinkuotu also said that in compliance with the order, the agency was working out modalities to increase local content in its procurement process, as this would boost locally manufactured goods in the country.
Ifeoma Okeke
