AVIATION: ICAO, NCAA Commence Certification of Lagos, Abuja Airports
The International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO), in conjunction with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has
commenced the implementation of the AFI Plan Aerodrome Certification Project
for Abuja and Lagos Airports.
This was disclosed by the Director General,
NCAA, Capt Mukhtar Usman while addressing the counterparts from the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Western and Central African
(WACAF) during the Pre – Certification meeting at the NCAA Conference Room, in Lagos.
Regional Director of ICAO WACAF, Mam Sait
Jallow, the team leader who was accompanied by the Regional Officer, Nika Manzi
said that the objective of this mission is 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.
The two airports are
Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport, Abuja. These two airports were chosen due to the volume
of traffic in Nigeria. Nigeria has the largest passenger traffic in the African
continent.
The AFI Plan 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.
Earlier, in his
welcome address, the Director General (NCAA) affirmed that this project is
crucial to global aviation as regards safety and security of the airport
environment.
He said that the
aerodrome certification is in line with the ICAO Standards and Recommended
Practices (SARPs).The Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) and all the
necessary instrumentation for the process are already in place.
He further stated that
the Aerodrome Certification process in Nigeria is carried out in five phases.
At present, the ongoing certification of Murtala Muhammad International Airport
(MMIA) and Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport (NAIA) have reached phases
three and two respectively.
Capt. Usman added that
the authority has trained technical personnel who are very competent to handle
the challenges that may be encountered during the certification exercise.
In his response, Mam
Sait 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.
DG therefore expressed
profound appreciation to the ICAO WACAF team for their efforts in providing
additional momentum to the aerodrome certification.
He assured the body that
Nigeria will meet up with the certification requirements within the stipulated
time frame.
The representatives of
ICAO WACAF, DG, officials of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal
Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency
(NAMA) later held a meeting at the FAAN Headquarters as part of the
Pre-Certification formalities.
After the meeting, all concerned undertook an inspection of
facilities at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport,(MMIA),Ikeja.
The team
has since left for Abuja.
Culled from The
Sheet
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