NCAA raises concern over harmattan haze, warns pilots, airlines, others
- Advises on airport closure, flight delays over inclement weather
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has advised pilots and airline operators to exercise caution over hazardous weather in the dry season.
This warning was contained in a release by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) on weather alerting the public on the possibility of deterioration in visibility as a result of observed dust haze propagated into the country from the source region.
The Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu in a statement on Thursday said according to the statement from NiMet, “Winds over 10m and 925hPha are favourable for dust-haze propagations into the Northern parts of the country with stations in the source region, Niger (Goure, Zinder, Maine-Soroa, Diffa, N-Guigmi and 61091 and with horizontal visibility between 800m and 6000m.”
These sources from Chad, he said are expected to report poor horizontal visibility in the next 24hrs, based on available models” the release reads.
Due to strong winds, Nuhu said the dust in suspension is expected to propagate to some states in the northern part of the country, which will further reduce horizontal visibility, especially over Katsina, Kano, Nguru, Jigawa, Potiskum and Maiduguri in the next 24hours.
He noted that this information was intended to alert pilots about the nature of weather associated with dry season in Nigeria ranging from light/moderate to severe dust haze and sometimes early morning fog which can sometimes reduce the horizontal visibility to below the aerodrome operating minima.
|Therefore, members of the general public are to take necessary precautions during this time in the planning of their trips so as not to encounter unnecessary flight delays.”
He listed the effects of this hazardous weather on flight operations to include air-to-ground visibility reduction due to haze dust or fog; aerodrome visibility may fall below the prescribed operating minima and in severe conditions, dust haze can blot out runways, markers, and airfield lightings over wide areas making visuals navigation extremely difficult or impossible; and flight delays, diverted or cancelled where terminal visibility falls below the prescribed aerodrome operating minima.
He stated that all pilots, operators, and air traffic controllers are obliged to abide by these safety requirements by the closure of the airspace by air traffic controllers when any of these conditions are observed or forecast by NIMET; strict adherence to published aerodrome weather minima by Flight Crews/Operators and Air Traffic Controllers (ATC).
Pilots/flight crew members should obtain adequate departure, en-route, and destination weather information and briefing from NIMET Aerodrome meteorological offices and Stations prior to flight operations and exercise maximum restraint whenever adverse weather is observed; and operators ensure that all necessary measures are put in place to cushion the effects of delay or cancellations on their passengers.
While the authority urged all passengers to exercise patience and understanding during this period as their safety is of utmost importance, he noted that airline operators and stakeholders are also advised to avail themselves of weather reports for effective planning in their operations as violations would be viewed seriously.
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