Poor infrastructure: Aviation stakeholders canvass closure of Port Harcourt Airport
Players in the Nigerian aviation industry have called for the closure of Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Port Harcourt over deplorable safety-critical infrastructure.
Participants at the second day of the ‘Industry Engagement on the Review of Accident Reports’ organised by the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N) insisted that the number of serious incidents and accidents that have occurred at the airport over the years made the airport unsafe for flying.
Participants explained that the runway, Instrument Landing System (ILS) and other facilities at the airport have been in the poor state over the years, adding that these had gravely contributed to loss of lives and equipment.
One of the participants who craved anonymity on the sideline interview with journalists at the event insisted that Port Harcourt Airport was not a go area for flight services.
Grp. Capt. Ojikutu (rtd), one of the discussants in his submission said that most of the accidents that happened at Port Harcourt airports were identical and preventable if the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other government agencies had performed their duties creditably.
Ojikutu also queried how often the calibration exercise of flying equipment at most of our airports, especially the Port Harcourt airport are being carried out, maintain that calibration exercises are supposed to be carried out every six months.
He said: ‘Necessary things are not always done when these serious incidents or accidents occur in the country. What is the category of ILS in Port Harcourt Airport? Whose responsibility is it to calibrate the ILS especially those in Port Harcourt Airport.
‘If it’s a military environment, you can say they have signed to die, but what about the civilians? Most of the foreign-registered aircraft that we are suing for commercial flights who does due diligence on them? For how long are they supposed to remain in Nigeria flying? A lot are still needed to be done to sustain the safety we have in the industry.’
Ojikutu called for periodic maintenance of runways to avoid crashes in the sector.
Also, Capt. Jide Bakare, the management staff with AIB-N, opined that NCAA should consider a mandated go-around policy for airlines in the sector to sustain safety in the industry.
Besides, Engr. Gbolahan Abatan observed that as at 2018 when AIB and NCAA set up a committee to look into the implementation of safety recommendations by the former, only 33 per cent of the safety recommendations were implemented.
He, however, said that years after the setting up of the committee, most of the safety recommendations have been implemented by NCAA and other concerned bodies.
Abatan, decried that some of the aprons in Nigeria lacked appropriate runway markings, which he said had contributed to air crashes in Nigeria.
He specifically said that as at the time of Hawker Siddeley HS -a 125-800XP serious incident in June 2005 at Port Harcourt airport, the airport ought to have been shut down for runway repairs, maintaining that for NCAA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to have kept it in operation was suicidal.
However, Engr. Godwin Balang, the General Manager, Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC) and Airworthiness, NCAA said that NCAA had implemented over 70 per cent of safety recommendations from AIB in recent years.
According to him, out of a total 37 safety recommendations made to NCAA, the body had fully implemented 29, two were partially closed while the authority disagreed with five others.
He also declared that Port Harcourt Airport was safe for flying and dismissed the notion that the regulatory body was not carrying out its functions critically at the airport, but said the airport was not yet certified by the agency
He added: ‘To build an airport and maintain such is not easy. Many of the airports operate on cost recovery. Port Harcourt Airport is safe for flight services.
‘Port Harcourt Airport is not yet certified by NCAA; only Abuja and Lagos airports are certified.’
