The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Capt. Fola Akinkuotu

  • NAMA begins sectorising of Lagos area control centre

    NAMA begins sectorising of Lagos area control centre

    The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has begun the process of splitting the Lagos Sub-Flight Information Region (Sub-FIR) airspace into Lagos West and Lagos East Area Control sectors.

    NAMA spokesman, Steve Onabe, said in a statement on Sunday that the agency’s Chief Executive, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, announced the split at a stakeholders’ sensitisation forum in Lagos.

    Akinkuotu said :”The process is in line with NAMA’s commitment towards enhancing quality of air traffic services in the country.

    “It is aimed at reducing congestion on the available en-route radio frequency as well as increasing Air Traffic Management (ATM) capacity in order to manage the growing air traffic volume and simultaneously reducing delays within the Kano FIR.”

    According to him, sectorising the Lagos ACC will bring about optimum utilisation of the airspace by reducing controller-pilot workload, thereby increasing efficiency and quality of service delivery.

    Akinkuotu, who was represented NAMA Director of Operations, Gabriel Akpen, expressed optimism that the service quality of Communication Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) would also be enhanced.

    The NAMA boss said the process would be streamlined in accordance with the provisions of Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) consistent with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Standard and Recommended Practices (ICAO SARPs).

    As part of the process, he said the agency was currently optimising the Very High Frequency (VHF) radio and also installing a high-powered stand-alone VHF radio as backup to the total VHF coverage of Nigeria.

    Akinkuotu added that controller working positions on the ACC consuls were in proper ergonomic positions.

    He disclosed that the agency had embarked on aggressive manpower training and simulation exercises in collaboration with the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, to shore up capacity.

    Akinkuotu noted that on-the-job training for air traffic control officers at Kano Area Control Centre which already had a running two-sector operation was in progress.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that the  Lagos Area Control Centre was created out of Kano Area Control Centre which hitherto controlled the entire Nigerian airspace in 2001.

    It manages 15 subsidiary aerodromes within the southern sector of the Nigerian airspace including flights overflying the upper airspace.

  • New NAMA boss assumes office

    New NAMA boss assumes office

    The newly appointed Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Capt. Fola Akinkuotu,  assumed office on Thursday assumed office at the agency’s headquarters in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that Akinkuotu was briefed by some top management staff of the agency as he assumed duties.

    Akinkuotu, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was named NAMA Managing Director on Jan. 9.

    He took over from Mr Emma Anasi, who had been working in acting capacity since last March when the former Managing Director, Mr Ibrahim Abdulsalam, was removed for alleged fraud.

    Akinkuotu, a transport pilot, flight and aircraft maintenance engineer was also a former rector of the International Aviation College, Ilorin.

    Until his new appointment, he was the chief executive officer of Aero Contractors Airlines, which recently resumed operations after a four-month self-imposed suspension.

    Meanwhile, an aviation union, the Nigeria Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) had congratulated Akinkuotu on his appointment.

    The union urged Akinkuotu to use his wealth of experience to reposition NAMA.

    The President of NATCA, Mr Victor Eyaru, told NAN that the new NAMA boss was vast in industry and was capable of transforming NAMA if given the needed support.

    “He is not new to the industry and as a former pilot; he understands the need to put the right things in place to enhance air safety.

    “One of the most important areas is the issue of communication between pilots and the air traffic controllers which is presently not good enough, due to lack of equipment.

    “We believe that he can quickly address this issue and other challenges so that NAMA would be able to live up to its statutory responsibilities,” Eyaru said.

  • NCAA to carry out audit of domestic airlines

    NCAA to carry out audit of domestic airlines

    As part of measures to enhance air safety in the country, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority said on Monday that it will carry out joint audit of domestic carriers to ascertain their technical and financial state of health.

    The Director- General of NCAA, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, disclosed this during a briefing at the Aviation House, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    He insisted that there is no going back on the audit, which will be carried out in collaboration with foreign firms.

    Akinkuotu revealed the NCAA will shut down airlines owing workers salaries, saying the authority will only find out such development if the matter is brought to its notice.

    He said the NCAA will take steps to raise the bar in safety by ensuring that all domestic operators undergo the International Operations Safety Audit (IOSA), conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

    He explained that steps were being taken to restore the confidence of the flying public, which has become critical in the last few weeks on account of the Associated Aviation Embraer 120 crash in Lagos and other incidents.

    He said,” We will continue to engage domestic operators to do what is right. They have a responsibility to comply with the rules and avoid lapses that will expose the industry to emergencies.

    The NCAA demands that all operators must sit up.

    As the regulatory body the NCAA has a role to ensure that there is continuous monitoring to enhance safety.

     

  • ‘Industry’s major challenge’

    Non-compliance with aviation rules by operators is a major challenge facing the industry, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, has said.

    He spoke in Lagos at the opening of a two-day seminar on Aviation Law and Regulation, organised for judges and other stakeholders, in collaboration with Socio Economic Rights Initiative, a civil society organisation.

    He said the sector does not suffer from a dearth of laws and regulations to check operators but that players were reluctant to comply with prescribed standards and practices, adding that the NCAA would ensure compliance to standards and recommended practises of the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO).

    He said the essence of the event was to educate participants on the intricacies of industry practices, saying once issues are brought to them, they would have fuller understanding of how to handle them without violating the internationally set standards.

    Akinkuotu said the seminar would provide the result to propel the sector, noting that industry as an international business without domestic standards, requires standard legal framework to function properly.