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……Plans to upgrade Instrument Landing System (ILS)
In December 2016, only two commercial flights operated from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos due to the Harmattan haze. It has been projected that the total cost of upgrading the landing facilities including instrument landing system, (ILS) installation of airfield lighting, uninterrupted electricity supply, automation of aeronautical information service as well as radio communication would cost the federal government about N35billion.
Flight cancellation due to low visibility would be history after the planned ILS upgrade is implemented according to The Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika who stated this recently at the College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.
MLN can confirm that so far, only Kaduna airport has the Category two ILS working. However, plans are underway to install them in other major airports, including Kano, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Jos and Enugu. Furthermore, we learnt that the FG through NAMA has ordered some of this equipment, while the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) would see to the installation and upgrade of airfield lighting at some of the airports.
“Yes, government is determined to ensure that the equipment is installed and before the end of this year we shall make sure that we install the equipment at five airports, but we have to get the equipment on the budget; it has to be signed and passed and money has to be made available. We are determined to achieve this but do not expect miracles. We have already finished the installation in Kaduna; the next airport is Kano,” the source told MLN.
He explained that although government was determined to improve the landing system at the airports but there are other corresponding requirements that must be fulfilled by other aviation agencies and the airlines, noting that a Category two ILS needs uninterrupted electricity and also corresponding equipment in the aircraft, which would enable the pilot to utilise the ground equipment.
“There are certain infrastructures that would go with the Category two ILS, which must be provided and these include approach light; the airplane must have the right equipment to be able to land in very low visibility and the pilots have to get the currency that would enable them to effectively operate and land in low visibility,” the source stressed.
He also noted that for the new landing system to work effectively, “there must be perimeter fencing at all the airports where the equipment would be installed; there must be uninterrupted power supply; there must be approach light as mentioned earlier, then the corresponding equipment in the aircraft.”
He added: “We are working together to ensure that we achieve these set goals. Government is determined to ensure that the problems caused by obsolete landing aids are put behind us; we are even complying with the executive order given recently by the federal government.”
