The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency has reassured air travellers that Nigeria’s airspace and airport landing facilities remain safe and fully operational during the current haze associated with the harmattan season.
In a Friday statement signed by the spokesperson of the agency, Dr Abdullahi Musa, the agency addressed public concerns over flight operations amid reduced visibility during the Harmattan.
Usually, harmattan rents the atmosphere in Nigeria from December till sometime in February. NAMA dismissed insinuations that navigational facilities at Nigerian airports are poorly maintained or unfit for operations during the haze period, describing such claims as misleading and not supported by technical facts.
According to the agency, all navigational aids at Federal Government airports are routinely maintained, flight-checked, and calibrated in strict compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization Standards and Recommended Practices, as well as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations.
Speaking on the matter, the NAMA spokesperson added that the maintenance and calibration of critical air navigation infrastructure are mandatory safety requirements.
He said, “These processes are not optional. They are compulsory safety procedures carried out using NAMA’s dedicated flight inspection and calibration aircraft, operated by highly trained technical and flight inspection personnel.”
He explained that key systems such as Instrument Landing Systems, VHF Omnidirectional Range, Distance Measuring Equipment, and other Communication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management facilities undergo periodic ground and airborne verification to ensure accuracy, signal integrity, and operational reliability.
He added that all calibration and maintenance activities are conducted under continuous regulatory oversight by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. “The NCAA audits our compliance, validates calibration cycles, and enforces corrective actions where required, ensuring that safety standards are consistently upheld,” he said.
(Punch)
