Poor visibility: Foreign airlines to continue diverting to Accra if
.. as Calabar flights divert to Uyo
Foreign Airlines into the Lagos International Airport MMIA may continue to divert their flights into Accra Ghana due to poor visibility for landing.
Some airlines had to divert their flights Monday evening as a result of poor visibility which was not good enough for landing.
The visibility is said to be fluctuating and might impede aircraft landing and takeoff at various airports.
According to an investigation by our correspondent, the recent category 3 instrument Landing System, ILS recently installed by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA to aid seamless landing were not fully in use due to the absence of Runway and approach lights.
The Category 3 ILS it was gathered cannot work in isolation without the aid of the runway and approach lights which are expected to have been installed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN.
The runway and approach lights were supposed to have been upgraded by FAAN with the recent installation of the Category 3 ILS by NAMA but a source hinted that FAAN was not carried along by NAMA during the installation of the Cat 3 ILS
The source further revealed that the installation of the facility ought to have been a joint work between NCAA, NAMA and FAAN to enable them add their input.
It is nonsensical to report that Umahi is in APC – Ebonyi Govt
While the blame game continues, NAMA has concluded plans to calibrate the Cat 3 ILS next week and expects FAAN to do the needful by upgrading the from Cat 2 to 3 of its runway and approach lights
It was also learnt that some foreign airlines have started using the Cat 3 on their own without clearance from the air traffic controllers but NAMA has not encouraged any airline to make use of it until after the calibration of the facility
Reports from other Airports indicate that Calabar airport visibility is very poor and currently no aircraft is landing or taking off from there, flights met for the airport are being diverted to the Uyo Airport which has a functioning ILS for Operations.
For now, international airlines will have to continue to divert to alternate airports unless there is an improvement in weather visibility.
Other International airports visibility like Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt is said to be good for takeoff and landing as the time of filing in this report.
Meanwhile, an anonymous stakeholder has called on FAAN to return the runway and approach lights switch back to the control tower to enable them to provide actual intensity for pilots as Cat 3 ought to be seamless for aircraft during inclement weather.
The stakeholder also urged FAAN to address the problem on the central taxiway of the airport which has been closed for almost twenty years now and to ensure that the Compass wing where aircraft carry out their engine run and checks was put in order and opened for use.
A top management staff of FAAN, however, told our correspondent that both NAMA and FAAN will have to seat together to address the issues mentioned above and to stop apportioning blame.
