Long Road To Airports’ Certification

For Many Years, None Of The Country’s Airports Met The High Standard Of Certification. The Narrative Is About To Change As Abuja And Lagos Are Slated For The First Among The Aerodromes For Certification, WOLE SHADARE Writes

The rot in the nation’s aviation sector may have found deep expression in the assessed parlous infrastructural facilities be-deviling the gateways over the years, with succour now coming from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The 22 airports in the country have remained un-certified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), on account of the poor state of infrastructure at the aerodromes.

The infrastructure decay still persists despite several billions of naira ‘wasted’ on airports terminal remodelling project that would have taken the country’s aviation to a greater height.

Although aviation regulations have to a large extent been good as NCAA is constantly improving and modifying laid down rules.

This has perhaps given the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) the conviction that Nigeria perhaps has now shown the commitment to correct some of the anomalies inherent in the country’s aviation industry.

The airports for years lacked adequate fire cover, efficient airspace communication infrastructure, water hydrant, fire fighting vehicles, airfield lighting, while poor security of the airport, coupled with lack of perimeter fencing, among others, are factors that militated against standard airport system stipulated by the global aviation regulatory body.

ICAO requirements As part of requirements for ICAO certification, an airport must have operational and perimeter fencing, certified aviation security personnel, state-of-the-art navigational equipment, while the personnel must be regularly trained and retrained.

Other conditions include standard runway and runway strength known as the Pavement Classification Number (PCN), which enable airports and airlines to know if a given aircraft may put undue stress on a runway, non-interference from government; adequate fire tenders; standard instrument landing systems; fuelling; baggage handling, apron and quick response to distress, among others.

As at today, only two airports, Lagos and Abuja are the two aerodromes that are most likely to meet the requirements of the global aviation regulatory body.

The Abuja airport is properly fenced while that of Lagos has reached 75 per cent completion, indicating that the process for evaluation could still go as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) closes that gap.

The other two airports in Kano and Port-Harcourt cannot meet the high standards for now until the government concentrates heavy attention on them by providing adequate security, provision of adequate fire-fighting equipment, adequate deployment of security personnel.

But the Director-General of the NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, his team and the ICAO team led by Regional Director of ICAO, Western and Central African (WACAF), Mam Sait Jallow, that visited the country are about to change the narrative.

NCAA had never certified any airport in the country since 2006 when the law that gave it autonomy to certify airports in line with international regulations was promulgated.

Although, the Lagos, Abuja airports and other airports in the country were yet to be certified by the NCAA, regulatory officials said the situation did not mean the airports were not safe for operation.

The idea to begin safety assessment of the two aerodromes was as a result of the Africa Indian Ocean Plan that was adopted by the 36th ICAO Assembly to address the safety status of aircraft operations in the AFI Region.

This plan is meant to address three focal areas, which are: to establish and maintain a sustainable oversight system (infrastructure/capacity building); assist states to resolve identified deficiencies within reasonable time; and to enhance aviation safety culture of African aviation service providers.

The ICAO WACAF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NCAA and FAAN as participants in the ICAO AFI Plan Project in Dakar, Senegal on 11th August 2016. The NCAA has already completed phase three of the aerodrome certification programme.

Jallow said that the objective of the mission was to follow up on the AFI Plan Certification project and assist Nigeria with technical guidance towards the certification process.

According to Jallow, two airports were selected from Nigeria for AFI Plan Aerodrome certification project while one airport was selected from other states in the AFI Region.

Jallow said that the ICAO WACAF meets twice a year and their next meeting is scheduled for May 2017; therefore, all hands must be on deck to achieve a successful certification and present the report during the meeting.

After the meeting, all concerned undertook an inspection of facilities at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA),Ikeja.

The team left for Abuja for the continuation of the inspection. Also on the card are the auditing of aerodromes and heliports that scattered across the country.

Wole Shadare