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The Nigerian
Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) on Wednesday said that it has
commenced the migration from the current terrestrial operations to
satellite-based navigation to enhance safety across the nation’s
airspace.

According to the
agency, arrangements have been concluded for the takeoff of the project
in March, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has
been contracted to carry out the job which is to cost the organisation
₦360 million. “There are ample opportunities for airlines to fly in and
out of the airport with flexibility. It is going to be economical for
them as they will burn less fuel, make quicker turn and talk less with
the Air Traffic Controllers,” said Supo Atobatele, General Manager,
Public Affairs, NAMA at the agency’s headquarters in Lagos.

The satellite
navigation system configures a country’s airspace with the Global
Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which is carried out through the
World Geodetic System 84 (WGS84) survey. Its completion will augment
flight operations, making it easier and safer for pilots to navigate
through the airspace. Funds spent in the acquisition of aviation fuel
will be reduced to a “large extent” when the satellite navigation
system is in place, and the difficulty experienced by airlines and air
traffic controllers in the positioning of aircraft in motion and on the
runway will be adequately corrected, according to the airspace agency.

Mr. Atobatele said
that the federal government will bear the cost of the project, adding
that the International Air Transport Association has carried out survey
of the 22 airports controlled by the Federal Airports Authority of
Nigeria (FAAN) including two others owned by the Akwa Ibom and Gombe
State governments. The NAMA spokesperson noted that at the moment the
project commenced at four major international airports in the country,
Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja; Port
Harcourt Airport, Rivers; and Aminu Kano Airport, Kano.

“With this
movement, we’ve gone digital and the issue of obsolete equipment is no
longer there. The GNSS is a modern trend in air navigation spatial
coordinate of terrestrial points, which was established by the ICAO
(International Civil Aviation Organization) and it’s the acceptable
international terrestrial reference framework known as WGS84,” he said.

Mr. Atobatele
disclosed that some foreign carriers have been picked for the test
flights of the new system and that the ICAO had set a deadline of 2016
for all member countries to migrate to the new regime, adding that the
agency looks forward to completing the project by 2012. “When fully put
into use, pilots in flight will depend more on the satellite to
navigate to the airport covered by the survey and depend less on land
aids.

NAMA had trained its personnel, airline technical staff, naval
officers and air force personnel for efficient handling of the
equipment.”