The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NAMA

  • NAMA ends flight checking of air navigation equipment

    NAMA ends flight checking of air navigation equipment

    THE Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has concluded the calibration of navigational aids at airports nationwide.

    Calibration of air navigation equipment is flight checking them for accuracy and optimum performance.

    NAMA spends millions of naira yearly on this exercise by engaging a foreign firm because the agency’s calibration aircraft is not fitted with the right equipment to carry out the task.

    The operation, which began 11 days ago, was handled by a technical team from the Dakar-based firm, Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASCENA).

    Speaking with correspondents at the NAMA headquarters complex in Lagos, leader of the ASECNA calibration team, Nganan Jorim, an engineer, expressed delight over what he referred to as “the most successful calibration exercise in recent time.’’

    He noted that his team had no challenges during the entire operation because of the preparedness of the NAMA team prior to their arrival from Senegal.

    On the status of the navigational aids calibrated, Jorim said: “The report of the calibration indicated that the navigational aids are in a very perfect condition for safe flight operations.”

    Also, a top-level technical team of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority on a visit to Nigeria has expressed delight in the capacity and performance of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) equipment in guaranteeing safety of the country’s air navigation.

    The Director-General of the Ghana CAA, Abdulahi Alhassan, who led the its country’s delegation to NAMA, spoke after a facility tour of some of the agency’s installations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, including the TRACON site and Control Tower.

    “We are highly impressed with what we have seen here, both in terms of technical infrastructure and human capacity to effectively man these facilities and guarantee safety of air travel,” Alhassan said.

    At a reception at the NAMA headquarters complex in Lagos, the GCAA DG told NAMA officials that their mission to Nigeria was to seek the nation’s support in the co-management of the Accra airspace, which includes Togo and Benin as against ASECNA’s plan to sectorise the airspace.

    According to Alhassan, “it is our belief that ASECNA has not followed due process in its bid to sectorise the Accra airspace.

    “It is a matter that the three bodies (ASECNA, GCAA and NAMA) should discuss on a round table because of its regional safety and security implications. The position of Ghana is that we co-manage the airspace rather than sectorise it,” he said.

    The Managing Director of NAMA, Ibrahim Abdulsalam, an engineer, maintained that as neighbours, Nigeria was in the middle of the whole issue, making it imperative for a quick resolution to be sought.

    He assured his guests that Nigeria was disposed to a peaceful and amicable resolution of the issues, stressing: “We are committed to co-operating with both Ghana and ASECNA in our determination to ensure safety of the African sky.”

  • Air traffic controllers strike: There will be no flight disruption, says NAMA

    Air traffic controllers strike: There will be no flight disruption, says NAMA

    Ahead of tomorrow’s full scale strike by air traffic controllers nationwide, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), said yesterday that there will be no flight disruptions at airports nationwide.

    It said the agency has put a contingency plan in place to ensure provision of air traffic services.

    The spokesperson NAMA who is also general manager of public affairs, Mrs. Olajumoke Adetona said the agency is working hard to resolve the current agitation by air traffic controllers bordering on harmonisation of professional allowances with other groups within the agency.

    She said the agitation had been addressed by the Federal Government.

    Adetona urged airlines, operators and other service providers who depend on NAMA services to go ahead with their scheduled flights.

    In a statement, Mrs. Adetona said, “The Management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) hereby wishes to inform the general public that there would be no disruption in the provision of air traffic services on Monday, 20th April 2015 in line with the agency’s mandate to provide safe, economic, efficient and expeditious air navigation services.

    “The agency wishes to restate that the current agitation by Air Traffic Controllers on harmonization of professional allowances with other professional groups in NAMA has been addressed on its merit and resolved by the Federal Government.

  • Air traffic controllers embark on six hours strike

    Air traffic controllers embark on six hours strike

    Air traffic controllers across the country Thursday Morning  embarked on a six hours warning strike to draw the attention of the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA), to epileptic air navigation equipment as well as failure to address welfare issues  raised last year.

    The warning strike according to sources is a prelude to total industrial action scheduled to begin on Monday April 20, 2015.

    Investigations revealed that flights are not disrupted at airports nationwide because the management of NAMA has put in place a contingency plan to mitigate any effects of the warning strike.

    Part of the contingency plan, is the use of Nigerian Air Force personnel as traffic controllers at airports nationwide.

    An official of NAMA said the management has commenced discussions with members of the National Association of Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA), on how to resolve the issues affecting their welfare and working equipment.

    The official said the managing director of NAMA, Engineer  Ibrahim Abdulsalam is already in Abuja to meet relevant ministry officials on how to resolve the impending industrial action by air traffic controllers.

    The official said by Friday, the matter would have been resolved amicably between NAMA and the striking air traffic controllers.

    Last year at its annual general meeting in Kano, members of NATCA in a communiqué complained of epileptic air navigation equipment at airports nationwide, even as they complained about intolerable working conditions.

    In statement Thursday, NATCA speaking through its national president, Comrade Victor Eyaru said:” It is against the background of no action plan and political will to implement the agreements earlier reached with our association and others that has necessitated this corresponding action by air traffic controllers in Nigeria.

    Today’s action will last six hours only as a warning sign but in preparation for a major and total industrial action which shall commence on Monday April 20, 2015, if relevant government bodies continue to threat air traffic controllers issues with utmost levy or neglect.

    Tempers are high, but industrial peace and harmony must be the concern of everybody.”

    Last year, air traffic controllers cited incessant failure of air navigation equipment at airports nationwide as part of the reasons why the association is embarking on strike.

    The association also complained about epileptic and alarming failure of air navigation equipment, which has increased the work load of both air traffic controllers and pilots.

    A statement signed and issued by Comrade Victor Egaru and Olawode Banji, President and General Secretary respectively, said it is disheartening that in the last two months that the CNS/ATM equipment has been epileptic and alarming, thereby increasing the workloads of both ATCs and Pilots.

    “Presently, the Instrument Landing System (ILS) serving the Lagos Runway 18R has been unserviceable for close to three months while the one serving the Second Runway (18L) have been epileptic for more than one month.

    “The distance measuring equipment on located with the VOR in Lagos has been out of service for a long time as well. Equipment in many airports including communication facilities suffer that same fate.”

  • Air traffic controllers threaten showdown over poor navigation equipment

    Members of Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association ( NATCA), have threatened to embark on an industrial action next week over the failure by the management of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA) to implement the agreement reached on the Welfare of its members, as well as the failure of the agency to replace ageing air navigation equipment.

    A statement signed by the National Secretary of NATCA, Olawole Banji, said members  will down tools effective March 15, 2015.

    Banji said NATCA will not shift ground on its  resolve to proceed on strike, adding that it has given the NAMA management two weeks to allow for the conclusion of approved process of the proposed harmonised allowances for its members agreed on since January 18, 2015.

    NATCA stressed that it will  embark on the strike following the inability of NAMA management to implement all the agreements reached, saying the Controllers are agitating for improved working conditions, especially the replacement of obsolete equipment at various locations across the country, as well as their welfare enhancement.

    Meanwhile , the Aeronautical Information Service (AIS ), the body charged with the responsibility of generating information to pilots and the public, has also threatened to confront the management of NAMA for playing politics with professional issues in the organisation .

    AIS President , Babatunde Shittu,  said  the management has relegated its members to the background, and make it look as if only NATCA is the professional body in NAMA that is always agitating for improved welfare  without considering other bodies.

    He warned that they will soon kick start their agitation should government fail to carry  them along.

    It said the report of the Harmonisation  Committee clearly demonstrated that Aeronautical Information Services  is not recognised in Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) as a professional body, stating that the   Aeronautical Information Services   is seemingly neglected to the extent that it is hardly carried along in decision making process that directly or indirectly affects it members.

    “We are now appealing to   NAMA Management, to go the extra mile to give AIS smooth landing by meeting the standard set by ICAO.”

    Shittu  called on NAMA to as a matter of urgency train the remaining 122 Aeronautical Information  Officers  in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO requirement to enable them perform their duty optimally.

    He explained that transformation from Aeronautical Information Service to Aeronautical Information Management is imminent , the reason he said has made their training a necessity .

    He lamented the dearth in AIS personnel and the need to address the issue of their professional allowanced and that of the airmen.

  • NCAT graduates 36 NAMA workers

    NCAT graduates 36 NAMA workers

    Thirty-six Nigerian Airspace Management Agency’s (NAMA’s) workers have completed Aeronautical Communications course at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria.

    The course, which began in January, was designed to equip participants with basic critical communication skills.

    It was also aimed at providing latest technical competence required for the collation, processing, storage and dissemination of Aeronautical information such as Air Traffic Control messages and electronic NOTAMS.

    The graduation ceremony, which took place at the college’s auditorium, was also part of events marking NCAT’s 50th anniversary.

    NAMA Managing Director Ibrahim Abdulsalam, an engineer, congratulated the graduating workers for hard work and perseverance.

  • NAMA to begin 24-hour services

    The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is to commence 24 hour  air navigation services at its remote stations across the country

    The 24-hour service is part of efforts to improve air traffic services to customers of the airspace agency

    The Managing Director NAMA Ibrahim Abdusalam made this known in Enugu during the 32nd Annual General Meeting/election of the National Association of Air Traffic Engineers (NAAE).

    The NAMA boss said  the proposal for the 24-hour air navigation services  take-off has been endorsed by government.

    Abdusalam said the management of the airspace agency  was working hard to bring on board multilateration , the latest air navigation technology for the Niger Delta region.

    He also spoke of plans to begin voice network for the coverage of the nation’s airspace.

    According to the NAMA boss, the voice network will be used to provide training for staff.

    Abdusalam said the  aeronautical information services project is  on cause adding that issues surrounding its take off is being resolved with the contractors handling the project.

    He said tests  on the project had been carried in addition to training of personnel.

    He announced that middle cadre staff would be trained on the job in some major airports in order to acquire experience for effective services .

    He cautioned workers of the airspace agency to desist from  creating division in the system through  unpatriotic Union activities .

  • Air traffic controllers issue 21 days’ ultimatum to NAMA

    Air traffic controllers issue 21 days’ ultimatum to NAMA

    AIR traffic controllers under the Nigeria Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA) have issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

    The group, in a communiqué by its President, Victor Eyaru, and General Secretary, Banji Olawode, demanded that outstanding, unresolved as well as pending issues regarding air traffic controllers’ remuneration, professional allowances and promotion/advancement in NAMA should be resolved within 21 days .

    The ultimatum, which begins from today, was issued at the end of NATCA’s 43rd yearly general meeting in Kano State at the weekend.

    The association warned that its threat to go on strike should be taken seriously by the management of NAMA because controllers could ground flight operations nationwide because of the sensitive services.

    Also, the air controllers requested the review of the allowances of their members working at the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, stressing that they have been waiting for approval at the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission since 2010.

    They urged that the allowances be released for implementation within the same time-frame, failure by which they threatened to act within the legitimate means recognised by labour law to press home their demands.

    They vowed to resist alleged plan by NAMA management to appoint non-air traffic controller as Airspace Manager at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, describing it as absurd and unacceptable.

    “In addition, NATCA demands that the headship of all stations be reverted to Air Traffic Controllers,” the communiqué stated.

    Eyaru and Olawode lauded the efforts of NCAT at improving on its training facilities such as virtual tower and radar simulators.

    It however opposed the deployment of the radar simulators outright for the training of ATCOs in radar control until the equipment has been deployed to carry out radar refresher courses to allow for proper appraisal of both the equipment and manpower.

    The air traffic controllers appealed that sufficient and timely training and re-training should be given to their members to remedy the inadequate, abridged and inconclusive form of training being experienced over time, which serves as threats to air safety.

    Meanwhile, NAMA said 40  air traffic controllers would undergo  a  two-day theory and five days practical in Egypt this month while another five air traffic controllers would be trained on wind shear equipment located in five stations in Nigeria by December.

    Speaking at the NATCA’s meeting , Managing Director of NAMA, Ibrahim Abdulsalam, said the management was sending the Air traffic controllers on performance based navigation training as part of measures to bridge the inadequate manpower gap in air traffic control in Nigeria.

    Abdulsalam was represented by the Director of Operations, Edward Ogedegbe .

    He said : “The new management is taking training serious. A few days from now,  four groups of 10 air traffic controllers  will be train in the first instance in Cairo, another set of  five persons will go to Germany next month”.

  • NAMA mulls concession to revive aircraft calibration hangar

    Worried by the huge funds spent in the calibration of navigational facilities yearly, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is considering the concessioning of its Navigation Flight Calibration Unit (NAFIS), investigations reveal.

    Part of the move to concession the aircraft flight calibration unit, a source hinted, is to reduce the burden on the airspace agency of the huge sums spent for the flight checking of its air navigation facilities to ensure their efficiency and reliability.

    In the new move, NAMA is considering the lease purchase of a new calibration aircraft which would put to rest the inconvenience associated with the use of the troubled Hawker Siddley 125 aircraft used for flight checking of navigation equipment.

    Confirming this development, the Managing Director of NAMA, Ibrahim Abdulsalam, hinted that the agency will pursue the process of documenting the concession by filing relevant documents to the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission ( ICRC).

    The ICRC is the statutory agency of government saddled with the task of regulating the concession of public agencies. Abdulsalam hinted that the option of concession of the aircraft repair facility is the best option to keep the facility in functional state.

    He said the process of achieving documentation and processing of the concession arrangement may take up to two years to ensure that the firm that wins the concession has met all the requirements.

    He said if the agency is in a hurry to package any concession of the facility, some aggrieved parties may pick holes in the process. He said there are plans to get a reputable firm to manage the facility and remit returns to the airspace agency.

    In the decision to lease an aircraft for the calibration of navigational facilities, Abdulsakam said it is economical when compared with the huge cost required to buy new engines for the faulty  HS 125 aircraft parked at the NAFIS hangar at the domestic wing of the Lagos Airport.

    He said: “The calibration aircraft has been lying fallow for over five years at the hangar. What is required to put it in track may not make economic sense. It requires new engines and other vital components. It may as well pay off to just buy a brand new aircraft, which could be cheaper.

    “The option to make it cheap is to explore the lease option. That way, the payment will stretch over a long time. We are also looking at how to put the hangar to the best and most economic use. We are looking at the option of concession, that way, the place could run efficiently. .

    “We are looking for competent firms that could handle that. But we have to go through due process by ensuring that the ICRC go through the whole process of documentation. That is where we are now on the facility.”

  • 21 air traffic controllers graduate at NCAT

    Twenty-one Cadet Air Traffic Controllers have graduated from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), Zaria in Kaduna State.

    Speaking at the graduation, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ibrahim Abdulsalam, urged the students  to  justify the investments in their training by  being committed and dedicated to duty, in the interest of safety of the airspace.

    Abdulsalam noted that as part of the transformation of the sector, resulting in the remodelling of airports and the deployment of sophisticated communication, navigation, surveillance  and air traffic management infrastructure among others, across the country, NAMA is investing on the training and retraining of personnel, particularly the critical manpower resources to ensure the safe, effective, economic and efficient use of these equipment and to keep pace with the dynamics of new technology.

    NAMA boss said: ”The increasing demand for air traffic services over the years, occasioned by the rapid growth in population and the establishment of state and privately owned airports nationwide vis a vis the high turnover of critical manpower arising from retirements and deaths prompted the agency to resort to contracting retired Air Traffic Controllers and Air Traffic Engineers as a short-term remedy.”

    He assured that with efforts at training young ATC cadets, the challenge would soon be tackled.

    He praised the graduates for their perseverance and hard work. He also gave kudos to the management of NCAT for the tremendous support and co-operation accorded the students during their stay.

    The Rector of NCAT, Capt. Samuel Caulcrick, pointed out that the high academic standard and rigorous training offered by the institution makes it stand out as a centre of excellence and one of the best in the world.

    He urged the graduating students to be worthy ambassadors of NCAT by impacting positively to the growth of the nation’s aviation industry.

    In its determination to bridge the manpower gap in ATC services, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency in 2012 recruited 50 ATC Cadets with batch AC 57 and 58 resuming at NCAT in February, last  year while AC59 resumed in July, same year.

    Earlier, the Managing Director of NAMA,  Abdulsalam, accompanied by a top management delegation, including the Director of Human Resources, Dr Uwem Akangson and the Acting Director of Operations, Mr Edward Ogedegbe, toured facilities at the institution.

    Places visited include the Area Airways Department, General ATS Department (which boasts of a 3D 360 Visual Tower Simulator for aerodrome control training), Flight Line and Hanger as well as the Flying School.

  • NAMA urges Galaxy Backbone to ensure efficient telecoms service

    The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has urged the management of Galaxy Backbone Plc to ensure an efficient telecommunication service at the nation’s airports.

    Galaxy Backbone Plc is the Information Communications Technology (ICT) firm charged with providing effective telecommunications service at the nation’s airports.

    The call was made by the agency’s Managing Director, Mr Ibrahim Abdulsalam, when he led a delegation to the telecommunication’s headquarters.

    According to NAMA’s weekly update issued by the agency’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Supo Atobatele, in Abuja,  Mr  Abdulsalam urged Galaxy Blackbone to develop a strategic work plan to enable the firm provide  cutting edge services to  airports across the country.

    “Galaxy backbone is the sole provider of telecommunications services within the aviation environment. And its mission is to strengthen the existing business relationship between the two organisations, so there is need to  develop a strategic work plan for effective service delivery,’’ the statement said.

    Former Galaxy Backbone’s Managing Director, Mr Gerald Ilukwe, commended NAMA for ensuring the safety of the nation’s airspace.

    “This collaboration would further boost NAMA’s record of efficiency and excellence in service delivery in Nigeria,” Ilukwe had said.