The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, Wednesday in Abuja inaugurated the Nigeria Civil Aviation (NCAA) Flight Data Centre (FDC) to enhance safety regulations in the nation’s aviation sector.
According to Keyamo, the centre is part of the NCAA’s concerted efforts to improve aviation safety in Nigeria.
In another related development, a cross-section of regulatory agencies in the aviation industry visited the Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport, located along the Ilisan-Iperu axis of Ogun State, on Tuesday, commending the quality of facilities put in place as well as its level of completion and thereby certifying it for commercial operations.
The agencies, which comprised the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), unanimously adjudged the airport as world-standard and a source of pride for Ogun State.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation, during the inauguration of the NCAA Flight Data Centre (FDC), stressed the facility speaks to one of his five-point agenda which borders on safety improvement in the aviation sector.
He said: “The fact that we are concentrating on improving safety within the sector of course would mean that we will keep moving up in the rating of ICAO.
“The Flight Data Center we just commissioned today is vital. I’m sure you have heard technical experts explain how it works. It doesn’t work only for incidences and serious incidents alone.
“It also works in a routine manner whereby they track flight patterns, they track various human efforts, and mechanical data. They conclude how to improve the sector, offer advice, and regulate better which is the core mandate of the NCAA.”
He further noted that the NCAA facility speaks to the fact that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very concerned about improving different sectors, moving from an analog to a digital way of executing functions.
In his earlier remarks, the acting Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomohinted that Annex 19 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation mandates all states to establish safety data collection and processing systems (SDCPS) to capture, store, aggregate, and enable the analysis of safety data and safety information.
This is a hallmark of an effective State Safety Programme (SSP).
According to Najomo, “Beyond the cost savings and efficiency benefits, the Authority would benefit, the facility would help reduce the likelihood of costly accidents and incidents; supports the implementation of risk-based oversight through efficient allocation of resources to areas of higher risk and global credibility aligns NCAA with global best practices, boosting international confidence in Nigerian aviation safety standards.”
The NCAA boss also said: “In ensuring Nigeria, as an ICAO Contracting State, discharges this obligation, the NCAA went into collaboration with APS Aerospace Corporation. APS possesses more than 100 years of combined experience in Flight Data and Cockpit/ATC Audio Analysis.
“Some other key benefits he listed include: enhanced safety oversight, proactively detecting potential safety risks, enable data-driven decision-making to prevent serious incidents and accidents and offers critical insights into flight events leading to incidents, Improves the quality and speed of incident investigations.”
According to the regulatory agencies during their visit to the Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport, Ogun State, the critical infrastructure at the airport, which includes the Control Tower, Weather Monitoring Areas, Runway, Fire Service Stations, and the Apron, can rival any of its type around the world and remain one of the best in the West African corridor.
Speaking during the visit, the Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards of NCAA, represented by Ango Mohammed, noted a significant improvement in the state of the facilities at the airport since his last visit, which is now at the level of any other towers in every standard airport around the globe.
Mohammed said the quality of work carried out at the airport by the Ogun State Government should elicit accolades from all, and he expressed the delight of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority over the project.
Also speaking, the representative of the Managing Director of NAMA, Tayo John, noted the purpose of their visit to the airport was to inspect the facilities on-site to ascertain whether they are in strict compliance with the requirements for the provision of air traffic services and safety.
Meanwhile, the Senior Project Manager of Craneburg, the construction company handling the project, Nicolas Mfarrej, said the airport is about 98% ready to take off fully and begin to serve the interests of the state.
In the same vein, the consultant on regulatory matters to the Ogun State Governor, Engineer Oluwole Adeyileka, explained that the key players in the regulation and monitoring of facilities for full airport operations had come to assess the level of readiness of the state, adding that it was noteworthy that they had been impressed by what the state had put in place at the airport.
In their separate remarks, the Manager of Gateway International Airport, Captain Dapo Olumide, and the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ade Akinsanya, said the ongoing assessment is the last hurdle to be crossed before the airport could go on full commercial operations.
He added the assessment given had shown that the state is set to take the lead in air traffic services in the country, describing it as a good outcome of great commitment and dedication to the realization of the dream of an airport that can meet world standards.
Kasim Sumaina and James Sowole
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