NACAN alerts of shortage of air traffic controllers

Members of the National AirTraffic Communicators Association of Nigeria (NACAN) have alerted of the acute shortage of air traffic controllers required to man the country’s 24 functional airports.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of NACAN 4th annual general meeting in Lagos, the ATC President, Mr Nkambo George declared that there were only 97 trained and licensed communication personnel nationwide which he said was grossly inadequate to cover operations across the airports in the country.

Nkambo, who also stressed the need for the provision of Aeronautical fixed telecommunications network, a ground to ground operation for safe, efficient, economic air navigation said, some stations like Kebbi, Bauchi and Dutse lacked the facilities.

The NACAN president who declared that there was no employment into the department between 1989 and 2012, appealed to the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to approve the basic training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, for officers to be properly integrated into the mainstream to boost the acute manpower shortage in the department.

Nkambo, noted that NAMA as an air navigation service provider has the responsibility of rendering its task with high sense of professionalism but lamented that certain elements in the agency were hell bent on “merging or integrating” two operational departments saddled with distinct functions as outlined by Annexes of ICAO.