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The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, said it had completed the calibration of all Instrument Landing Systems, ILS and other navigation facilities in 15 airports across the country.
Director of Operations , NAMA, Mr. Mathew Lawrence Pwajok stated that the calibration of all the facilities started on the 7th of October and ended on the 31st of October.
Pwajok also gave the assurance that the embarrassing situation where flights were being diverted to neighbouring countries experienced in the country last year and early 2020 due to the harmattan haze at the Lagos airport had been addressed.
According to him, “The new Nigerian calibration aircraft 5N CAA was used for the exercise which had saved lots of funds for the agency”
He further explained that with the installation and calibration of the landing aids, aircraft can have access to all airports at anytime especially the International airports opened for flight operations and others yet to be opened.
“At the moment, we have installed new navigational facilities in the following airports Port Harcourt we have a new DVOR, a dopplar VOR, we have also a new ILS CAT 2, we installed a new DVOR in Jos and a new ILS CAT 2. In Maiduguri, we installed DVOR and ILS CAT 2 and all calibrated also in the last calibration successfully. In Enugu, we have a new ILS CAT 2 installed this year and calibrated successfully.”
“In Benin, we have ILS CAT 2 installed and we are currently installing another ILS on the other runway in Benin CAT 2 brand new and we also DVOR that is on ground and the installations are going on as we speak.”
“All to enhance aircraft access to the airport and landing at any time. Even currently we are installing ILS CAT 2 in Akure, done ILS in Kano CAT 2 and a doppler VOR also in Kano all calibrated successfully. At the moment, we have an ILS system a new one in Minna and a DVOR awaiting installation, they are all on ground few work has been done it is just to install the equipment.”
On flight diversions experienced last year, the NAMA Director of Operations, assured that this is now history as the current landing equipment currently in Lagos ” both on ground and satellite, are tested, reliable, accurate and confirmed, there would be no diversions”.
“In the event you can’t use the ground equipment you can also use the satellite based systems for navigation, so both ground navigation and satellites navigation have been calibrated, tested, confirm, very reliable, very accurate. I can assure you fully we will not have such embarrassing situation again.”
He sai, “Yes, I can give you full assurance, number one, the two international airports that are opened for International flights, Abuja and Lagos, the ILS systems CAT 3 has been successfully calibrated with no restrictions, no limitations for both Abuja and Lagos”.
