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…summons aviation agencies
The Senate has resolved to investigate the frequent and prolonged closure of Nigeria’s airspace during movements of Very Important Personalities (VIPs), following complaints that poor coordination among aviation authorities has subjected passengers and aircraft to unnecessary delays and potential safety risks.
This resolution followed a motion sponsored in plenary on Tuesday by Isah Jibrin, who raised concerns over the operational procedures governing airspace restrictions and the implications for airlines, passengers and aviation safety.
Accordingly, the Senate mandated its Committee on Aviation to interface with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA),Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to examine the circumstances surrounding the restrictions and ensure compliance with established operational procedures.
It is expected to report its findings within two weeks.
This is just as the Red Chamber asked relevant aviation agencies to consider diverting flights to alternative airports rather than making them hover in the air for several hours before granting clearance
Contributing to the debate, Diket Plang, who represents Plateau Central, said the authorities must properly coordinate flight schedules to prevent situations where commercial aircraft are permitted to take off for destinations where airspace restrictions have already been imposed for VIP movements.
Plang, who recalled his experience as a station manager with Kabo Air in Kano in 1996, said aviation authorities must pay closer attention to flight schedules, take-off and landing times to prevent avoidable conflicts.
He said, “It would be very wrong for any instance that a VVIP is flying and landing in a particular area, and you know the timing, because all flights are a function of time. And you still allow another aircraft to leave another airport to the same destination that a VVIP is landing. For me, it is mismanagement of time.”
The senator also raised concerns about compliance with aviation safety regulations, particularly provisions requiring aircraft to carry sufficient fuel to return to their departure destinations in the event of emergencies.
He said, “If we don’t manage the space, it can lead to calamity.”
Describing the motion as an opportunity to address systemic lapses in the aviation sector, Plang urged the NCAA and FAAN to take decisive action on airspace management.
He said, “I rise very strongly to support and condemn what has happened to our colleague and through a loud voice supporting him that NCAA and FAAN, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, we must take a drastic action on the usage of airspace so that it would not even run to economic risks.”
He added, “Sir, an aircraft is called a flying coffin. Once it is in the air, it is considered to be a flying coffin. And therefore, there is no parking space in the air for you to do any repair.”
Also supporting the motion, Abdul Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central, described the situation as an emergency requiring urgent intervention by the National Assembly.
Ningi said prolonged flight delays had become commonplace in the country, blaming the situation on weak supervision and failure by aviation regulatory agencies to enforce operational standards.
He said, “Mr. President, we are operating as if we are a lawless country. No one of us here, no one that applies has not met the same experience. No one Nigeria applies.”
The senator argued that the responsibility for addressing the problem rested not only with the aviation agencies but also with the National Assembly, which exercises oversight over them.
He said, “And the onus is not on NCAA or NAMA. The onus is on the National Assembly that supervises them to do the needful.”
Recalling a recent experience, Ningi said a journey from Kano that should have lasted about 40 minutes took two and a half hours because of airspace-related delays.
He recalled, “Last week, I was coming from Kano. A duration of just 40 minutes, we spent two and a half hours because of this attitude. And when we landed, people were abusing government, people were abusing Senate.”
Going further, he accused airlines and regulatory agencies of failing to provide adequate explanations or effective complaint channels for passengers affected by delays.
According to him, “You go to the airport, your flight is delayed for several hours. And nobody will say anything about it.”
In his comments, Senate President Godswill Akpabio recalled an occasion when passengers were kept inside a bus for about three hours while waiting to board an aircraft, despite his then position as a governor.
He said the experience exposed the poor coordination surrounding VIP movements and the restrictions imposed on commercial flights.
Explaining the problem, he said airspace closures were sometimes activated long before the VIP movement actually took place, leaving aircraft circling in the air while passengers waited at airports.
He said, “So even when the president has not come down from upstairs, they have already closed the airspace. So that would take another one hour.”
According to him, the restrictions could remain in force for hours because of inadequate communication between airport authorities and officials coordinating presidential movements.
He added, “So by the time the president is leaving and is on the road, the airspace has been closed for two hours. By the time he now finishes his pleasantries at the airport and is about to travel, the airspace remains closed. And planes are overflying, turning and turning and turning.”
The lawmaker warned that prolonged holding patterns could expose aircraft and passengers to additional risks, particularly when weather conditions changed.
He said aviation authorities should coordinate restrictions with the actual movement of VIPs rather than shutting down the airspace long before their arrival or departure.
“They ought to know that they should turn, they should wait the president is inside the car on the way to the airport at least before they can clear the air. But they will not do that.”
Also speaking, he said he was informed that a plane crash which recently occurred in Nigeria was caused by the fuel finishing while it was hovering in the air awaiting clearance.
However, he clarified that he was yet to get the final report of what really transpired in the incident as the official report was yet to be laid before him.
Akpabio thereafter directed the Senate Committee on Aviation, led by Abdulfatai Buhari, to “immediately convene this meeting because it is life threatening and could lead to loss of lives if nothing os done” and also “tell us if there are other people (other than the president) that they do that (close airspace) for.”
