Accident: FAAN, other stakeholders commence review of airport emergency plan

Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo

Stakeholders in airport Operations have converged on the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos to review the Airport Emergency Plan (AEP) to minimize loss of lives and properties in the event of an Accident, incidents and serious incidents.

In her welcome address at the meeting, The Manager South West Airports, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs Victoria Shin-Abba said that the review was overdue to promote safety.

She explained that the AEP was one of the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

According to her, the previous air incidents in the country had necessitated the need for all stakeholders to work together towards achieving the common goal of minimising the impact on lives and property.

“The objective of airport emergency planning is to anticipate the effects an emergency might have on life, property and aerodrome operations.

“It is also to prepare courses of action to minimise these effects particularly in respect to saving lives”, she said.

Shin-Abba, however, added that the review would further help to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders, put in place a mechanism for feedback and recommendations for programme improvement.

While appealing to the stakeholders to be alive to their specific responsibilities as detailed in chapter four of the AEP, she emphasized that this would help to reduce fatalities during air accidents.

The Principal Airport Fire Officer, MMIA, Mr Uche Igumba said the AEP was long overdue for a review to allow the stakeholders to make fresh inputs that would ensure better implementation.

Igumba commended the stakeholders for their support towards its success, noting that the MMIA had excelled in various mock safety exercises conducted in the past two years.