FG committed to first class airspace radio communications

Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo, Lagos

The federal government has reiterated its commitment to a safe and efficient airspace reinforced with a first rate radio communications system for the country.

Managing Director/CEO of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, who stated the government’s position, also vowed that all challenges experienced in the area of communications were being tackled with relentless vigour.

Capt. Akinkuotu was addressing an air controllers’/pilot interactive session in Lagos with the theme: “Enhancing safety of flight operations.”

He said that radio communication is a critical factor in pilots-air traffic controllers and pilot-pilot exchanges during flight operations, adding that Nigeria’s airspace deserves the very best radio communications system and that government was working hard to deliver it.

Vowing that there was no going back in achieving an efficient radio communication system, he said: “We have made inroads in the area of radio communications but there are challenges.

I want to assure my colleagues, the pilots and the controllers that efforts are being made.

“And we are not going to stop. I am not going to stop, so long as I am in NAMA from trying to deliver an optimally functional radio communications system for our airspace.”

Capt. Akinkuotu, who has a rare distinction of being a pilot and an aeronautical engineer, explained that it was essential for communication between the pilots and air traffic controllers to be crisp and clear, stressing that, “part of NAMA’s job is communication.

We will keep trying; we will not rest until we fix it. We will fix it.”

He said that although, there have been “attestations that there have been some remarkable improvements,” he would not be satisfied until peak efficiency was attained, insisting that “for me, good is not good enough. Why not the best?”