NAMA blames flight diversions on inclement weather

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.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.