AN insight into why the certification of Nigerian Airports is being delayed was yesterday given by the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Dr. Harold Demuren.
He said that the non-certification of the country’s airports may remain for now unless the relevant aviation agencies put in place all requirements stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and NLAA.
No airport in Nigeria, not even the Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos has met the requirements for certification. He, however, said that the airport was close to meeting the category one status.
He stated that the airport was improving, stressing that efforts are geared towards improving the status of the airport described as the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) highest revenue earner.
He added that, the non-certification of the airports does not imply that they cannot do safe operations.
“They are working on it and they have done a lot. Very, very soon Lagos will get through to being certified. Lagos will be the first to get through. Port Harcourt is still a long way because of the perimeter fence. We are looking at the four major airports first. We need Lagos for Category 1. That is why I am mounting pressure on Lagos . The emphasis here is air side; not the land side”, Demuren added.
Demuren yesterday told journalists in his office in Abuja that his agency was yet to certify the airports unless they meet the stringent certification requirements.
According to him: “There is a requirement you must meet before meeting ICAO and NCAA certification. If these requirements are not in place I will not certify it. I mean business. Take Lagos for example, there must be perimeter fence; the same with Port Harcourt International Airport . This does not mean that the airports are not safe. There have been mitigating factors because the airports are monitored regularly as inspectors go through them.”
The Director-General listed inadequate fire cover, security and infrastructure as some of the reasons for the non-certification, adding that safety in the aviation sector cannot be compromised.
He noted that lack of fire cover had forced NCAA to downgrade some airports from category three to seven and above, meaning that instead of the airport operating a super-jumbo jet, it can be allowed to operate light air planes like Hawker Sidney, Beechcraft or at most, a B737 aircraft.
The Director of Engineering, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Obi Anadu, had on Tuesday during interrogation at the Senate’s public investigative hearing on the management of funds and the implementation of policies in the Transport Ministry between 1999 and 2008 at the National Assembly admitted that only three airports in Nigeria have good fire cover.