Inadequate finances and paucity of infrastructure are among the major challenges confronting operations of night airport operations in Nigeria, Capt. Musa Nuhu, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said.
Speaking at the 26th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation¬ Correspondents (LAAC) over the weekend in Lagos with the theme: ‘Sunset Airports: Economic and Safety Implications,’ Nuhu said that any airport, which decides to expand its operations beyond dusk required large financial and compliance with other important conditions.
Some of the conditions according to him included adequate number of competent personnel, adequate power supply and availability of ancillary service providers, among others.
Nuhu, who was represented at the occasion by Mr. Tayib Odunowo, Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards (DAAS), NCAA, also mentioned inadequate infrastructure as the other major challenge confronting such project in Nigeria.
According to Nuhu, statistics provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2019, indicated that the country would require over N1.5 trillion $5 billion to fix airport infrastructures gap in the country.
There are issues involving fire cover, primary and secondary power sources, provision of communication, navigation and surveillance aids, automatic weather stations and now-casting equipment among others.
Some of the infrastructure needed included fire cover, primary and secondary power sources, provision of communication, navigation and surveillance aids, automatic weather stations and now-casting equipment among others.
The NCAA helmsman also mentioned security risks and traffic level as among the challenges associated with 24 hours airport operations in the country.
He said: “All manners of security risks including kidnapping, robbery and others are evolving rapidly in many parts of the country.
“The evolving security challenges make night operations dangerous because many airports, by reason of construction and operational requirements are located mostly in the outskirts of town.
“The risks are enormous and seriously impacting on airports’ operations, airport workers and airline passengers/crew even in daytime.
“Due to downturn in the country’s economy, available data shows that the levels of passenger and traffic activities are not financially viable or self-sustaining to operate a majority of the airports beyond sunset.”
Besides, he lamented direct, indirect and induced impacts as some of the economic implications of restricted airports in the country.
According to him, economic impacts on the airlines are related to the cost of changes in schedules, both in terms of routes and departure times and changes in cargo and mail logistics, while the impact on the airport system is associated with adjustments that must be made to other airport schedules in order to accommodate the changes in routes.
For indirect impacts, he said this is derived initially from the economic activities outside of the airport site like services rendered by travel agents, hotels, restaurants and car rental agencies and concessionaires, stressing that capital and financial investments of those involved are affected.
On induced impacts, Nuhu said this consists of the combined multiplying effects of the direct and indirect impacts like the increase in employment and revenue derived from the successive spending cycles.
Source: independent.ng