NAMA moves to address pilots, controllers’ communication problem

Determined to improve communication between pilots and air traffic controllers towards improving airspace safety, the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is set to take delivery of four new sets of radio by the end of April to improve airspace communication between the pilots and the air traffic controllers.

More often than not the air traffic controllers are central to air safety as they communicate directly to the pilots in charge of aircraft.

Daily Trust reports that in recent times many pilots have complained about obsolete communication equipment which has impeded safety.

However, the Managing Director of NAMA, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu while speaking with newsmen at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos confirmed that some equipment are old but the agency had commenced a programme to renew the equipment to enhance the safety of the airspace.

According to him, the agency in the last one year took delivery of four new sets of radio which would be installed by the end of April to improve clarity of communication by pilots and air traffic controllers.

He said, “With clarity of communication, the job-load of the air traffic controller is reduced so also is the workload of the pilot and in this manner we would enhance safety.

“By the end of April, we expect some of the new equipment to have arrived and it would be one step not in totality of what is required but at least a step in the right direction to address the issue of communication”.

In terms of navigation aids, he said new Instrument Landing System (ILS) had been installed in Kaduna while Kano, Lagos and Maiduguri airports would also get new landing equipment as well as Doppler omni directional radio range known as DVOR which enables aircraft to determine their position and stay on course.