KEY POINTS

• NAMA rejected NATCA’s warning that Nigerian airspace safety is compromised, citing ADS-B deployment as an active radar backup
• NATCA President Edino Ilemona Amos and Secretary Umar Fahad said controllers can no longer guarantee safety due to obsolete CNS infrastructure
• NAMA said it trained over 140 air traffic controllers abroad in the past year and the federal government is procuring a modern radar replacement

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency on Tuesday rejected claims from air traffic controllers that Nigerian airspace safety had deteriorated to dangerous levels, insisting that the country’s communications, navigation and surveillance infrastructure remains operationally sound despite acknowledged equipment aging.

NAMA spokesman Dr. Abdullahi Musa said the agency deployed the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system as a real-time backup to the aging Eurocat C radar, ensuring continuous surveillance across the airspace. He also confirmed that the federal government was already procuring a modern radar replacement.

NATCA warning: Controllers can no longer guarantee safety

Meanwhile, NATCA President Edino Ilemona Amos and General Secretary Umar Fahad issued the safety warning at the weekend, saying the association could no longer guarantee Nigerian airspace safety due to obsolete CNS infrastructure and poor working conditions.

They stated that the facilities fail to meet acceptable reliability standards, forcing controllers to work around system weaknesses that a modern aviation environment should not tolerate. The controllers characterized the persistent infrastructure gaps as incompatible with safe airspace management.

NAMA invests in training, acknowledges welfare concerns

Additionally, Musa said NAMA trained over 140 air traffic controllers at institutions abroad in the past year and graduated about 40 cadets from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology in Zaria and the Nigerian Air Force ATS Training Centre in Kaduna. Still, a further 30 cadets remain in training to address ongoing staffing needs.

However, NAMA also acknowledged welfare concerns raised by personnel, including career progression issues for Grade Level 16 officers, post-license allowances, staff claims and fatigue. The agency said management was actively working on those matters with the supervising ministry.