The recent diversion of flights from Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, to neighbouring countries in West Africa, due to inadequate landing equipment or poor weather, is very embarrassing. According to reports, the major cause of the diversion of flights was that the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Lagos airport was not calibrated. For weeks, many international flights to Lagos were diverted to Ghana, Benin Republic and other airports.
As a result of the sad development, many Nigerian air travellers, numbering about 1,500, were subjected to untold inconvenience and suffering by some of the affected foreign airlines. Some of the stranded passengers reportedly returned from Ghana to Nigeria by road while others angrily returned to their take-off bases.
It is inexplicable that among the five international airports operated by the Federal Airports Authority (FAAN) none could fill the gap created by the inability of aircraft to land at the MMIA, Lagos. Efforts should be made to ensure that such diversions in future will be for Nigerian airports instead of those in neighbouring West African countries.
While acknowledging that weather-related diversions, cancellations and delays are precautionary safety measures in the aviation sector and therefore inevitable, it must be pointed out that the affected foreign airlines were able to land in Ghana which has the same climate condition as Nigeria. So, the issue has more to do with inadequate landing facilities than adverse weather conditions. It is, therefore, immoral to subject air passengers to horrendous suffering simply because some people in charge abysmally failed to perform their duties.
Already, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has apologised to the affected passengers for the diversion. It is also good that the government is working on the Instrument Landing System to allow for aircraft landing at the lowest visibility. However, the Federal Government should use the opportunity presented by the recent flight diversions to address all inadequacies at the nation’s airports with due regard to landing equipment and other related matters.
The weather condition in Nigeria is not significantly different from that of Ghana or those of other West African countries the flights were diverted. Diverting foreign airlines to land in Ghana or any airport outside Nigeria does not show that we are serious in the aviation sector. There is no doubt that the unnecessary delays in the calibration and certification of the newly installed CAT 3 ILS (Instrument Landing Equipment) to replace the existing CAT 2 might have led to the unfortunate incident. CAT 2 ILS ought not to have been removed when CAT 3 was not ready for use.
This tardiness, which has become a trademark of official business in Nigeria, must not be allowed to recur. Therefore, we enjoin the regulatory authorities in the aviation sector to work relentlessly and ensure that all landing equipment and other facilities necessary for air safety are installed in the designated airports. It should be pointed out that moving from Category I and II, which are in use in Nigeria to Category III ILS should not be used as an excuse for diversion of flights.
The Federal Government must, as a matter of urgency, install modern landing equipment in all airports in the country. The current fire brigade approach to addressing problems in the aviation sector should be done away with henceforth. We hope that this should be the last case of diversion of flights to Ghana or any other West African country despite having other international airports in the country.
We commend the insistence of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that the affected airlines should compensate passengers of diverted flights. We equally commend the readiness of the British Airways to commence the implementation of the envisaged compensation package to the affected passengers and urge it to do so without delay. Above all, let all agencies in the aviation sector work with other stakeholders to ensure air safety at all times.