New
To boost
the clarity of radio communication especially at the upper airspace, the
Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has replaced all the Very High
Frequency (VHF) radios at the existing eight remote sites in Lagos, Kano,
Wukari, Sokoto, Ilorin, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Maiduguri.
The
agency has also added six new sites in Jos, Kaduna, Yola, Enugu, Benin and
Calabar, Cross Rivers State making a total of fourteen VHF sites spread across
the nation.
This is coming as the agency has begun
acceleration of its ongoing programme geared towards the total upgrade of its
radio communication infrastructure across the country.
This
is to ensure that communication challenges experienced by pilots in some parts
of the airspace are totally eliminated.
Spokesman
for NAMA, Mr. Khalid Emeli in a statement said these VHF remote sites are
operated in a network which will have signal pattern that covers the entire
Nigerian airspace, adding that the agency had taken delivery of the VHF radio
equipment under the “Extended Range VHF Coverage” project and installation will
commence soon.
He
noted that the agency in 2018 deployed four stand-alone Jotron High-power long
range VHF radios at Lagos East and Lagos West as well as Kano East and Kano
West Area Control Centres (ACCs).
This
backup solution according to him is targeted at addressing Remote Control Air
to Ground (RCAG) communication challenges in the upper airspace by providing
reliable backup in the event of loss of VHF radio communication on the main
system.
His
words, ‘Also, plans have been completed to extend the range of the above stated
long-range backup radios and is only awaiting the passage of 2019 budget by the
National Assembly for implementation to commence. When completed, the backup
radios would also have sufficient overlap of propagated signals to cover the
entire Nigerian airspace’.
‘As
an agency, one of our overriding priorities is to provide reliable
communication link between the air traffic controller and the flying pilot at
all phases of flight and this we are continuously committed to doing’, he
added.
He
assured that its radio communication infrastructure remains serviceable just as
it is intensifying efforts to ensure that the quality continues to improve in
line with international standards.
It
would be recalled the communication challenge between pilots and air traffic
controllers has made airlines and pilots to rely on neighbouring countries for
air traffic navigation because of some ‘black spots’ in the airspace which the
agency is tackling.
Although
Nigeria’s airspace black spot has reduced by over 70 per cent, the inability to
cover the country’s vast airspace 100 per cent has contributed immensely to
avoidance of the airspace by foreign airlines as they choose to fly longer
distances by avoiding it entirely even when the situation does not appear
totally bad.
Air
traffic controllers disclosed that flight operations without a clear
communication between the pilot in the cockpit and controllers in the tower
held dire consequences for safety of the flight.
They
noted that the present Controller-Pilot VHF Communication coverage of Nigeria’s
airspace is a far cry from the required international standard, but it is still
work in progress with NAMA.
Credit:woleshadare.net
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