FG vows to tackle radio communication challenges
The Federal Government has vowed to tackle the challenges in the area of radio communications to ensure a safer sky.
The Managing Director of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Capt. Folayele Akinkuotu said his agency was committed to a safe and efficient airspace reinforced with a first rate radio communications system for the country.
Akinkuotu stated this while was addressing an Air Controllers/Pilot Interactive Session in Lagos with the theme “Enhancing Safety of Flight Operations.”
Radio communication is a critical factor in pilots-air traffic controllers and pilot-pilot exchanges during flight operations. The NAMA Boss told the session that Nigeria’s airspace deserves the very best radio communications system, and that government was working to deliver it.
Vowing that there was no going back in achieving an efficient radio communication, he said: “We have made inroads in the area of radio communications but there are challenges…. I want to assure my colleagues, the pilots and the controllers that efforts are being made. And we are not going to stop. I am not going to stop, so long as I am in NAMA, from trying to deliver an optimally functional radio communications system for our airspace.”
Akinkuotu, who has a rare distinction of being a pilot and an aeronautical engineer, explained that it was essential for communication between the pilots and air traffic controllers to be crisp and clear, stressing, “Part of NAMA’s job is communication. We will keep trying; we will not rest until we fix it. We will fix it.”
He said although there have been “attestations that they have been some remarkable improvements,” he would not be satisfied until peak efficiency was attained. “For me, good is not good enough,” he said, “why not the best?”
The Agency had been at the forefront of improving air navigation facilities and has committed enormous resources into air safety equipment.
Just recently, the Federal Government completed the Kano Tower Automated Air Traffic Management and Meteorological Systems, installed the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) Category II (CAT II), Doppler VORs (DVORs), Distance Measuring Equipment (DMEs) at four airports; Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Kaduna completed, while that of Minna, Jos, Yola, Maiduguri, Benin and Akure are still on-going and nearing completion.
Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika recently stated that almost two years ago, NAMA Installed CAT III Instrument Landing System in Lagos and Abuja, which has helped in great deal to improve operations during inclement weather conditions.
His words, ‘Also, we have installed the Very High Frequency (VHF) radios for aerodrome and approach air-ground communication in 18 airports nationwide. The airports are Maiduguri, Enugu, Jos, Calabar, Yola, Ilorin, Sokoto, Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Zaria and Katsina. Others are Owerri, Yola, Calabar and Kaduna.
“Besides, we have installed the high power Very High Frequency (VHF) stand-alone radios in Lagos and Kano Area Control Centres (ACC) as backup for air – ground upper airways voice communication and we also embarked on the deployment of Controller-Pilot-Data Link Communication (CPDLC) in Lagos and Kano to enhance communication in the oceanic region and the remote areas of the north”.
