Airline operators threaten to suspend flights over obsolete landing aids

Airline operators have threatened to suspend flights pending when the government would provide modern landing aids that would enable them fly with minimum visibility as obtained in other countries, including West African nations.

They berated the federal government for its failure to provide modern landing aids that could facilitate flight operations when there is harmattan and hazy weather and lamented the huge losses they incur due to inadequate supply of aviation fuel and flight disruptions at the peak of the Christmas holidays.

The airlines said the Nigerian airports still have category one visibility rules of 800 metres, which makes it unable for airlines to operate during the harmattan weather, but small and less developed countries like Togo, Benin Republic have category two visibility rules because they have the landing aids that can enable flights to land even in less than 200 meres visibility.

The operators also complained that 50 per cent of their flights are cancelled due to lack of aviation fuel, inadequate infrastructure, like airfield lighting and bad weather that could be managed with better navigational equipment, so the airlines lose money and the passengers activities are disrupted.
ThisDay December, 29, 2016

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