Airtraffic communicators call for better working equipment, more personnel
By Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo
The National Airtraffic Communicators Association of Nigeria (NACAN) has called on the authorities of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to provide state of the art equipment in its departments across the country to enable it carry out its functions effectively.
The President of NACAN, Mr George Nkambo who disclosed this to journalists in his office at Ikeja while highlighting on the activities of its coming 25th AGM in Abuja noted, that lack of equipment has negatively affected the performance of the air traffic Communicators unit.
He said it was frustrating when you come to work and you cannot work. “When you come to work, you see the backlog of messages that ought to have been transmitted and not transmitted. It allows people to think other things; it gives room for laxity as if they are not ready to work”
Nkambo noted that there were procedures to be followed on daily basis which are recorded on log books but it will be difficult to do without equipment.
The NACAN president who also decried the shortage of manpower in the department urged the Management of NAMA to look at their case as a peculiar one as they needed additional 300 personnel to join the 176 on ground to cover all the airports across the country effectively, saying communicators were the least in the directorate of operations
He explained their five airports, Jalingo, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Kebbi and Jigiwa were yet to be covered by Communicators operations adding that most of these airports were involved In Hajj operations.
Nkambo revealed that with the intervention of NCAA, few members of NACAN have been drafted to Bayelsa airport stressing that Lagos has limited numbers of Communicators.
According to him, with equipment coming in and with only two persons on a shift, it will be difficult to cover their functions at terminal to receive data from the Kano and Abuja Abuja stations
“We have e-flight plans messages coming from airlines, Lagos we have a heap of flight between 11 and 12 midnight. All scheduled flights turn in their plans for transmission and you require people to do that, people work more than six hours it is detrimental to health”
Nkambo appealed to the management of NAMA to always handle issues affecting various professional bodies in the Agency and solve it once and for all.
The NACAN boss revealed that his tenure has recorded a lot of trainings especially overseas for his members noting that some retired from the system without any training before his coming on board as a result of their relationship with the management
Nkambo explained that about 17 Communicators were presently undergoing training in Advance Communication officers course in Zaria while the forgotten aeronautical mobile service course, communications management course and but were revived under his administration as NACAN boss
He regretted the negative impact of the COVID-19 on their operations saying it was a challenging year that nobody wished to witness any more
Nkambo called on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to restore the two ratings on license (Aeronautical Station Operator license) of members which were removed as a result of the 2009 amendment.
He commended the Capt Akinkout the NAMA boss and the director of operations in the Agency for the cooperation and fatherly advise
Nkambo revealed that awards will be presented to those that have distinguished themselves in various fields in the aviation sector
In a related development, the general secretary of NACAN Kayode Famuro, explained that the present executives were able to address myriads of problems that retarded the progress of the association.
Famuro noted that the Managing Director Capt Fola Akinkoutu has stablised NAMA in the, providing enabling environment and trainings for smooth operations.
He advised all members of NACAN to always cooperate with the Management team of NAMA and the communications department.
The theme of the 25th AGM is, imperatives of reinventing air traffic communications, operations for the next generation ATM systems in the post covid 19 Era. The ceremony which will attract aviation personalities across the country will be held between 4 and 5 November 2021 at the NAF Conference center, Kado, Abuja