The minister of Aviation and Aerospace development, Festus Keyamo has charged the Nigeria Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) to develop innovative management techniques in controlling air traffic in the country.
The minister gave the charge on Wednesday in Abuja at the 34th Africa and middle east regional meeting of the International Air Traffic Controllers Association (IFATCA).,=
According to Keyamo who was represented by Dr. Micheal Chukwu, acting director, Air Safety and Administration, the profession of air traffic control has evolved rapidly, transitioning from simple flag signalling to sophisticated technologies.
He said this is why the evolution facilitates the seamless management of the surging number of aircraft traversing the country’s skies daily.
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He added: “ICAO projects that by the year 2037, Africa will require 4,203 new air traffic controllers. The onus rests on the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) to develop innovative solutions to accelerate the training of new and proficient air traffic controllers.
“Therefore, the Ministry will, undoubtedly, continue to provide all the necessary support to NCAT to ensure that it meets and exceeds its statutory responsibilities and functions.”
Also speaking, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Tayib Odunowo who was represented by Director of Operations, Mathew Pwajok noted that the future of air traffic management system is fast changing, hence the “need for automation and application of artificial intelligence as Air traffic controllers can explore the trends and improve training. NAMA currently provides service at 40.”
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