NAMA Sets Record Straight on Harmattan Operations and Air Safety in Nigeria
Oru Leonard
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has responded to claims about Nigeria’s landing facilities being unfit for Harmattan operations, calling them “technically inaccurate” and aimed at creating unnecessary public anxiety.
NAMA asserts that all navigational aids at federal airports are routinely maintained and calibrated according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. Equipment like ILS, VOR, and DME undergo periodic verification to ensure safety reliability.
The agency clarified that deploying CAT III Instrument Landing Systems isn’t necessary at all airports, citing global aviation practice. Nigeria’s airports operate safely with CAT I or CAT II systems, supported by published instrument approach procedures.
NAMA attributes Harmattan-related delays to weather conditions, airline decisions, and aircraft capability, not infrastructure neglect. The agency works with NiMet to disseminate accurate weather info and provide air traffic management support.
NAMA disclosed that the agency has designed, validated, and published instrument approach procedures aligned with ILS CAT II minima, which adequately support safe aircraft operations even during the most challenging seasonal conditions typically experienced in the country.
To suggest that the absence of widespread CAT III systems equates to compromised safety is therefore misleading. Aviation safety is determined by appropriateness and reliability, not by deploying the highest available technology where it is operationally unjustified.
Nigeria’s airports where ILS CAT II procedures are published are fully capable of supporting safe operations within approved minima, subject to airline and aircraft capability. Where systems are temporarily withdrawn, downgraded, or restricted, such actions are taken proactively and conservatively, in the interest of safety—not as evidence of regulatory failure.
Harmattan-related delays, diversions, or cancellations are primarily a function of weather conditions, airline operational decisions, and aircraft capability, rather than neglect or breakdown of navigational aids. Weather is an external variable that no aviation authority can eliminate; it can only be managed through accurate forecasting, conservative decision-making, and adherence to established minima.
NAMA futher added the agency works closely with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), to ensure continuous dissemination of accurate and timely weather information, while providing real-time air traffic management support throughout the Harmattan period.
“Nigerian airspace is safe, professionally managed, and aligned with global best practice,” NAMA emphasizes.
