THE Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Honourable Nnolim Nnaji has stressed the need for more funding of the aviation agencies to enable them cope with the increase in demands for air travel.
Nnaji made this call in Abuja on Monday during an interaction between the committee and the heads of agencies led by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Mr Hassan Musa.
The interaction was at the instance of a motion on the urgent need to investigate claims of engine failure and bird strikes that almost caused the fatal crash of two aircraft departing Kano and Port Harcourt Airports to Abuja respectively.
The House in plenary had mandated the committee on aviation to summon the Ministry and its agencies to give clarifications on the two incidents to avoid a major disaster in future.
The chairman demanded assurances from the team which included: the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) Captain Musa Nuhu, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN), Captain Rabiu Yadudu, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA), Captain Fola Akintotu, and the Commissioner of Accident Investigation Bureau, (AIB), Engineer Akin Olateru that flying was still safe.
He stressed that the insecurity in the country had placed high premiums on air travel which required that the Ministry and the agencies needed to do more to sustain the safety records the country has achieved in that past years.
The permanent Secretary while assuring that the problem of bird strike was a world-wide phenomenon declared that the several studies had proved that it didn’t pose much threat to safety.
His assertion was corroborated by the trio of Captain Musa Nuhu of NCAA, Captain Rabiu Yadudu of FAAN and the Commissioner Accident Investigation Bureau, Mr Akin Olateru.
Captain Yadudu specifically stated that bird strikes impact negatively more finances on airlines than safety, adding that it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and sometimes up to a million to replace an engine damaged by bird strike.
The heads of the agencies especially the Managing Director of FAAN, explained that a lot of funding were needed to upgrade some of the aviation facilities including the bird strikes control equipment.
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