THE NATION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014
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THE NATION
BUSINESS AVIATION
Expert urges review of airport security A N aviation expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd) has urged the government to review security at the nation’s airports. He said this had become imperative in the face of the prevailing security challenges warning that the airports were vulnerable. Ojikutu, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Centurion Securities, said the issue should be addressed before the United States Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) team pay its recertification visit this month. Government, he added, must quickly review the security programme to save it from embarrassment. He said stakeholders in the aviation sector are worried that the inadequacies identified by the U.S .FAA team a few years ago may not have been addressed. This, according to him, has gravely affected airports’ safety and security. Ojikutu, a former military commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, said the challenge of accessing the airport has been worrisome because of the presence of many security and para-military personnel at the terminal building. He added that this has made it difficult to know which agency is incharge to address any infraction on safety and security.
Stories by Kelvin Osa-Okunbor Aviation Correspondent
He said the team’s visit may expose the nation’s airports security inadequacies urging that steps should taken to improve the areas where lapses have been identified. Ojikutu said: “I do not think we are really doing enough in airport security. Government needs to raise the bar on issues affecting security at the airport. First, it is important for government to review the aviation security programme for the airports and the entire system. “And we can only do that if the NCAA is allowed to do its job properly. I do not know what is going to be the focal point of the FAA reassessment, when it visits Nigeria this month. The team is programmed to be here based on the assessment it carried out on Nigeria. It is supposed to visit Nigeria to find out if the gaps identified in its previous audit have been rectified. The team needs to come and find out how far Nigeria has gone about rectifying the gaps identified in the last airport audit.” According to him, there is no timeline for reassessing any country. “Nigeria’s reassessment has become imperative because of the Boko Haram challenge. The FAA
team needs to come around to find out the programme we had in Nigeria, the one available now and how the aviation system is handling the problem of insecurity. “If we cannot sustain the security programme, can we review it and what programme do we have in place ? He asked rhetorically. The content of the security programme, he said, is derived from the manual developed for the airport systems and airlines, adding that all airports and airlines are supposed to have a security programme. He said: “My worry has always been the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, especially the security programme in place at the airport . I have not seen enough being done about the Lagos Airport Road.” Some portions of the airport, Ojikutu said, ought to be closed to demarcate the airport perimeter fence from that of the security. “When ICAO came in 2004, it urged Nigeria to enhance the perimeter fence and the security fence, but nothing has happened since then. People are building into the runway, and I am tempted to ask if the airport has a survey plan,” he said. Concerning access into the airport, Ojikutu wondered who is ac-
tually in charge. “What is the regulation according to ICAO? We need to review the access control into the airport to properly define who is in charge. This has to be done in totality of the personnel in charge . The current system of having more personnel at the access point is not acceptable. The NCAA is not fully in charge, because the Ministry of Aviation has hijacked the functions of NCAA because of political interference,” he said. According to Ojikutu, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is not alive to its responsibilities. “Look at what happened in a few incidences at some airports.The NCAA should ask the airlines involved to review its security programme to ensure safe operations. The regulator should wake up to its responsibility and ensure that operators comply with their security plan. “What is the regulator doing?”He asked, adding that the government should address the challenge of inadequate personnel in the sector. The failure to train more people, he noted, could be a problem as the workforce is ageing without provision for replacement. This, he said, is unhealthy for the growth and development of the industry. In 2006, according to Ojikutu, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) had a deficiency of 250 personnel, adding that air traffic controllers are gravely inadequate. He said: “Why can’t government fix the Nigeria College of Aviation
• Ojikutu
Technology, (NCAT) Zaria to train personnel for NAMA. Government is not doing enough in the training of aviation personnel. There was a Boeing 727 aircraft belonging to DHL that should have been used for fire simulation, the aircraft was sold out as scrap. “FAAN has a shortfall of 1,000 personnel in aviation security. This is a dangerous dimension, the structure on the ground is not good.” Government, he said, should invest in the training of critical safety aviation personnel. “People with interest in aviation should be sent to NCAT for six months compulsory training in aviation to boost their knowledge of aviation. That way, the industry would be raising people who are knowledgable about the sector,” he suggested.
NAMA urges Galaxy Backbone to ensure efficient telecoms service
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•From left: Vice Chairman, Air Peace, Mrs Alice Onyema, Chairman, Mr Allen Onyema and the Acting DirectorGeneral, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Engineer Benedict Adeyileka, at the presentation of Air Operator' Certificate (AOC) to the airline in Lagos.
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Airspace manager: navigation equipment in order
HE airports’ radar system is working well and is capable of capturing aircraft from 150 nautical miles on secondary target. An Airspace Manager (ASM) in charge of Port Harcourt International Airport, Mr. Onwuakpa Marcel said the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON), has become seamless with targets becoming easier to identify. Speaking on operation in Africa, Onwuakpa, aircraft separation to prevent mid-air collision has become very easy thereby reducing congestion in the airspace. The reduction has further saved money and flight time for airlines. Onwuakpa, who opposed the privatisation of Air Traffic Control (ATC) said it was more of a secu-
rity job. “It may be highly impossible to privatise ATC in Nigeria because it is more of a securely job,” he said. He urged the government to address the shortage of manpower in the ATC. Onwuakpa lamented power outages at the airport in the past three months, saying that it has seriously affected ATC equipment. He commended NAMA management for providing generating sets to power its equipment The ATC , he said, has come of age in terms of international best practice. He advised airlines to contribute to NAMA’s seamless air traffic control by acquiring aircraft that are fitted with the latest gadgets.
In a related development, another Airspace Manager at Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, Mr. Igwebuike Denwigwe, has described the use of generating plants as unprofitable. He said the airport with about nine flights daily depends largely on generating plants to run its equipment. He disclosed that manpower shortage and lack of accommodation within the airport for its staff would make poretion at the airport tedious when it begins a 24hour operation. He urged airspace users to pay for services provided them by NAMA to enable the agency render more services, adding that it cost the agency a lot to provide such services.
HE 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.
FAAN decries high cost of power at Port Harcourt airport
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HE high cost of running power generating machines at the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) is worrying its management, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Southsouth and Southeast General Manager, Mrs. Ebele Okoye has said. According to her, about four trucks of 33,000 litres of diesel are used monthly to generate power at the airport. The absence of reliable power, she said, has led to 100 per cent dependence on generator, which has left the airport with little or no resources to run its operation.
On cargo delivery, she said the airport management is embarking on home delivery of cargoes in conjunction with an independent company. According to her, as part of the airports means of generating revenue, a new toll gate would be erected in conjunction with the Rivers State government. She lamented that funding has been the greatest challenge in running the airport daily. Okoye urged airline operators and passengers to bear with the ongoing work at the airport, adding that it would benefit all when completed.