Being a memorandum of the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) to the Presidential Committee on Aviation Reforms

In December 1944, when Franklin Roosevelt and his peers signed the Chicago Convention, which contains the basic rules for civil aviation, they emphasised that the future development of international civil aviation can greatly help and preserve friendship and understanding among the nations and peoples of the world.

Over sixty years later, this vision has become an evident reality, to such an extent that air transport is now accepted as a fundamental pillar of our global society, as indispensable to our daily lives as medicine and telecommunications, and essential for social progress and economic prosperity. The growing availability of affordable air travel has considerably widened aviation's role in our sustainable society. Air travel is no longer a luxury commodity, it has reached the point of being a necessity and critical to our collective economic progress. The air transport industry has not only underpinned wealth creation in the developed world, but has also brought enormous benefits to developing economies by unlocking their potential for trade and tourism.

The Nigerian aviation was to be in that league as a part of the larger global aviation. However, it was bedeviled recently by spates of fatal accidents and equipment malfunctioning resulting from long term system failure. In its January 1 2006 report for last year's aircraft accidents' statistics, the Netherlands-based Aviation Safety Network submitted a disturbing finding. It reported a total fatality of 1059 resulting from 35 accidents. Africa alone was responsible for 13 of the accidents representing 37% when it was actually responsible for only 4.5% of all world aircraft departures. That confirmed Africa as the least safe airspace. That was against the decrease in aircraft accidents recorded for other regions of the world including Asia and Latin America. This no doubt is a gloomy fact that we must collectively find sustainable solutions to for the safety and regularity of air transport and overall benefits of the Nigerian economy.

HOW WE STAND

A. Staffing

The prime objective of air traffic services, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is:

"to prevent collisions between aircraft, whether taxiing on the maneuvering area, taking off, landing, en route or in the holding pattern at the destination aerodrome",

"to provide information and advice useful for the safe and efficient conduct of flights and to notify appropriate organization concerning aircraft in need of search and rescue aids and assisting such aircraft as required".

ICAO also emphasizes that notwithstanding the organizational or financial structure of the service provision, air traffic control services remain a State obligation.

Air Traffic Control Services are provided in Nigeria at 24 aerodromes including Eket, Escravos and Osubi by less than 275 trained Air Traffic Controllers. Of our 278 registered members, 3 are in the regulatory arm of the industry. The remaining 275 are in the air navigation service provision arm in the employment of NAMA.

Depending on the complexity of air traffic at any aerodrome, air traffic services could be aerodrome control service or approach control service or a combined aerodrome and approach control service. There are two Area Control Centres in Kano and Lagos and terminal approach radar services in Abuja and Lagos. All these services provision is not only man-hour consuming, their sustainability at safe level is dependent on availability of competent hands.

Further analysis of this number will reveal that:

13 have radar and area ratings plus aerodrome and approach ratings,

21 have radar rating plus aerodrome and approach rating, and

55 have area rating plus aerodrome and approach rating, while

180 have aerodrome and approach control ratings only.

56 or about 20% of the present workforce will retire in the next six years. While 143 (52%) is 45 years old or more, 37 (13%) are necessarily engaged in ATC tactical and strategic planning responsibilities.

B. Equipment

Smooth and safe Air Traffic Control Services provision is predicated on availability of adequate and serviceable equipment. Our members cannot in all honesty claim they have been working with either adequate or constantly serviceable equipment. The additional worry we have to contend with as air traffic controllers is, having to work with equipment manufactured in the 1950s, maintained by people trained in the 1990s on 1940s technology. The fact of the contradiction is visible in the inability of the maintenance crew to grasp with maintaining the equipment.

We have got more navigational and landing aids from year 2000 to work with in our business of ensuring separation between aircraft in the air and safe landing on the ground. The VORs, NDBs, DVORs and the ILSs have been giving a good account of themselves. However, our last survey revealed quite a number of them on one leg of serviceability.

Communication equipment is still the most problematic of our members' worries. Most of the equipment were installed in the early 1980s and have been allowed to deteriorate due to lack of proper or inadequate maintenance. Most of the contraptions on ground now as communication equipment are at best intended for makeshift or back up. It has been a situation of erecting permanent structures on a temporary site.

Consequently, there are a plethora of communication problems that we have to contend with. The two Area Control Centres (ACCs) in Kano and Lagos cannot truly be called by that name. This is simply because there is communication problem along UR984 to Port Harcourt and Calabar; UG660 west to Gulen and east to Kelak; UR778 between Kaduna and Kano; UA604 and UR986 from Kano to Takum. Lots of engineering solutions have been applied that paid little regards to safety and by extension not acceptable to us. Coordination among ATC units is the backbone of effective and safe air navigation. What is obtained now in some stations like Lagos and Kano as far as coordination equipment is concerned is a disservice to effective ATC and has been increasing stress for our members engaged in a naturally stressful job.

Telephones, instead of press-to-talk units are now employed for coordination with its attendant delays and safety implications for machines that are flying at arrow speed. The results have been congestion and undue delays.

C. Training

About 180 air traffic controllers have not been trained on any professional course that could translate value added job performance enhancement between the past 3 to 5 years.

No form of human/material management training had ever been deliberately given to air traffic controllers yet they are expected to manage human and materials when they assume posts of responsibility.

Training is the only way by which the skills and ethos of a profession are passed down the generation for continuity, efficiency and safety. It is expected to be guided by some policies and recorded accordingly to give credence to performance and merit. This is still grossly lacking in air traffic controllers' training.

WHAT WE WANT TO SEE

• Recruitment and training of more air traffic controllers and constant refresher training of old ones
• Imbibing the culture of ensuring that ATC professional trainings are completed within five years of aerodrome and approach rating
• Procurement and installation of more modern functional ATC equipment at all ATC units
• Renovation of ATC units, replacement of old furniture and procurement and installation of new workstations
• Applying lasting engineering solutions by the use of VSAT for ATC communication in the Kano FIR
• Improving the remuneration and welfare packages of air traffic controllers to equal those of the pilots, as required by relevant ICAO guidelines
• Involve controllers in matters affecting their profession both at local and national level through the professional Association.
• Speedy completion of radar projects embarked upon for the monitoring and safety of air navigation in Nigeria.
• Institution of a workable ATC safety management and quality assurance initiative to ensure compliance with ICAO standards and recommended practices