Enhanced airspace safety: Tinubu approves NAMA officials’ visit to Spain

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Determined to enhance the safety and security of the nation’s airspace, the federal government has approved an onsite visit to Spain by the critical staff of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to inspect some of their facilities as well as engage technology solution providers to address security challenges for the subsequent upgrade of the agency’s surveillance systems.

The latest approval by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, according to the managing director of NAMA, Alhaji Ahmed Umar Farouk, fell in line with the NAMA’s resolve to further make the country’s airspace more seamless to flight operations.

This is coming even as the agency has embarked on the upgrade of its surveillance infrastructure across the nation’s airports and other remote installations across the country.

Dropping this hint on Tuesday while receiving a delegation from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) at the agency’s corporate headquarters in Abuja, the NAMA MD described the Nigerian Air Force as a valuable ally to the agency with regard to the safety and security of the nation’s airspace.

Recalling how the collaboration between the two agencies over time had been critical to the sustenance of airspace safety and security in Nigeria, Farouk declared: “NAMA handles civil operations, while the Air Force oversees security. Our close collaboration is vital for maintaining a safe and secure airspace.

In his remarks, the leader of the NAF delegation, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Abdulkadir stated that the Nigerian Air Force had recently enhanced its capabilities to secure the nation’s airspace with new platforms designed for national air defence and stationed with the Air Defense Group in Makurdi, stressing that the NAF had also completed its day training and was close to finishing night training, which would enable rapid response and interception of any intruders in the Nigerian airspace.

The Air Vice Marshall also shared an update on the NAF’s enhanced capabilities to monitor and identify all aircraft entering and exiting the Nigerian airspace, adding that improved collaboration and partnership between NAMA and the NAF would sustain the current security and safety in the nation’s airspace.

AVM Abdulkadir described NAMA and NAF as “twin children of the same mother”, saying that NAF’s responsibility for airspace security complements NAMA’s role in airspace management.

Joint training initiatives aimed at addressing the shortage of Air Traffic Controllers across the country were considered as the Nigerian Air Force training centre in Kaduna which recently got accredited by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) would see at least 20 NAMA staff being trained annually.

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