THE present shortage of Air Traffic Controllers across the country’s airports can only be tackled through the massive engagement of controllers by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
Making this declaration, a retiring airspace manager with NAMA, Mr. Victor Akpobaro Eyaru while speaking on his activities in the past 35 years in service noted that air traffic control in the country’s airports had grown to the extent that it required more hands to be engaged for flexible use of the airspace.
Eyaru, who served as Airspace Manager at the international wing of the Lagos airport, acknowledged there had been little improvement on airspace communication but added that though the Air Traffic Control had been divided into two (east and west sector) but added that it was not yet over as communications issue remained one sided.
He noted that airspace training remained very critical, adding that things must be put in a proper perspective in terms of safety by giving people the right training.
Eyaru while calling for proper identification of important training, which he said should be tailored towards trainings to achieve its aim, declared that the restructuring of the country’s airspace had made the tasks of controllers and pilots less cumbersome.
According to the former president of Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA): “Personnel can never be enough for now and that is why you see controllers retiring and they are re-engaged based on contract. Until there is massive recruitment of controllers, we will still be grappling with the issue of manpower shortage in ATC.”
Eyaru while lamenting how COVID-19 had deprived them of international trainings revealed how controllers only had local trainings through Zoom.
Commenting on the status of facilities for seamless take-off and landing of aircraft at the Lagos international airport, Eyaru said all facilities including the Instrument Landing System (ILS) had been calibrated and given pass mark in preparation for the harmattan weather, saying no problems envisaged.
He, however, called on FAAN to upgrade its runway lightings to cat 3 from cat 2 to enable that of NAMA to function as expected, adding that there were components that will work together with the equipment.
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