The National Association of Air Traffic Engineers has asked the Federal Government to deploy spare parts, replace ageing ones and upgrade aviation technology, to ensure safety in Nigerian Air Space.
The President of the association, Engr. Makanjuola Ebenezer stated that Nigeria’s air navigation systems need upgrade to conform to technological revolution in the Global Aviation Industry.
He made this known while speaking at the opening of the 46th General Assembly of the International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Engineers in Abuja.
In his words, “We need a lot of spare parts for majority of these equipment and thanks to the Federal Government of Nigeria, they are taking the right steps to address these issues of spare parts.
“Majority of the equipment, we are using don’t have spare parts that can be found locally. They are all imported into the country.
“We’re now using this forum to appeal to the Federal Government to expedite action on all those documents that have been written, so that an express permission and release of funds will be given to the relevant agencies and the spare parts can be given to the eager engineers, who are ready to work despite all the challenges.
“If we have this enabling environment, Nigerian Engineers that are working under the agencies in the Ministry of Aviation, will be ready to turn things around.”
He also appealed for training of personnel to meet with global best practices and boost safety records.
Nigeria recently joined many other countries to implement air traffic safety electronics personnel certification and licensing, to increase dedication and commitment towards the operation of technical systems and promote safety in air space used by air lines.