The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has blamed the frequent diversions of flights by foreign airlines into the Murtala Mohammed International airport Lagos to inclement weather and company minimas of affected Airlines.
Minimas are the benchmarks that guide pilots in deciding whether or not to land or take off in given weather conditions.
According to NAMA, “the inability of some international flights to land at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, largely due to issues of inclement weather and company minimas of affected airlines. Our position is that such diversions are in the interest of safety”.
Khalid Emele, general manager public affairs, in a statement said the Instrument Landing Systems, (ILS) on the two runways of the Lagos airports are serviceable.
“The facts on record however are as follows: Lagos has two runways- 18 Right and 18 Left. The Doppler Very High Omni-Directional Radio Range (DVOR) and the Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) at the airport have successfully been calibrated and passed 100 percent
“The localizer (a component of the Instrument Landing System) responsible for horizontal guidance at runway 18 Left has also passed 100% calibration while the glide slope (which is another component of the Instrument Landing System that provides vertical guidance) is undergoing routine maintenance and by tomorrow (12/02/2020), the maintenance will be concluded and the equipment shall be fully on air.
“On Runway 18 Right, there is Category 3 ILS which is still undergoing installation. Presently, Selex Systems, the contractors are working on the realignment of its parameters, preparatory to the calibration and commissioning of the equipment in the shortest possible time,”Emele stated.
He reassured airspace users and the general public that the Nigerian Airspace remains safe for seamless, and economic air travel and regret any inconveniences caused.
On Tuesday, British Airways was reported to have diverted to Accra as the weather in Lagos continues to fluctuate.
Some of the airlines, due to safety concerns, have continued to apologise and seek passengers’ understanding on the development.
