Insecurity Fuels Demand for Air Travel, NAMA Claims 

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), has said the rise in political activity in Nigeria as well as the country’s expanding economy and rising insecurity are all contributing factors to the increase in demand for air travel. 

The statement was made public on Sunday during a gathering of Nigerian aviation industry stakeholders. 

Speaking at the 2022 Airspace Managers’ Forum, NAMA’s acting managing director Matthew Pwajok said it had become crucial for airspace managers at the country’s airports to stay up to date on international trends in airspace management.

According to him, there is an increased demand for air travel, necessitating the need for strategic air traffic management to ensure smooth operations.

Pwajok stated that with increased pressure on the aviation industry at the global, regional, and national levels as a result of increased passenger and cargo traffic, the agency needed to expand its capacity to cope with the increased traffic.

He cautioned managers at airports with limited operating hours not to turn down requests for service extension, saying especially during this period of electioneering as this could be given political colouration, adding that “the minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, sees aviation as a support role to every sector and to everybody, regardless of political leaning.”

According to Pwajok, it has become critical that Airspace Managers at the nation’s airports stay current on global trends in airspace management because “as aviation is global, there is no Nigerian aviation standard.”

The acting MD stated that the training would introduce managers to the Civil Aviation Policy, which is the framework that directs operations on a national level, as well as the Global Air Navigation Plan, Regional Air Navigation Plan, and National Air Navigation Plan. “You must also be kept abreast of the Federal Government’s Aviation Roadmap or Masterplan; our Communication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) Masterplan and the milestones toward attaining these masterplans because these are frameworks within which we are expected to operate in carrying out our statutory function as the nation’s airspace manager,” he added. 

The NAMA boss also sought managers’ support and buy-in for the minister’s aviation roadmap, which he said would boost the industry’s growth.