The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) said flight delays, diversions and cancellations experienced during the harmattan season are principally caused by adverse weather conditions and aircraft operational limitations, rather than failure or neglect of navigational infrastructure. NAMA made this clarification in a statement by its Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Dr Abdullahi Musa, issued yesterday.
According to Musa, poor maintenance of landing facilities is not responsible for operational disruptions at Nigerian airports during the dusty harmattan period.He insisted that harmattan-related disruptions were primarily a function of prevailing weather conditions, airline operational decisions and aircraft capability, rather than breakdown or neglect of navigational aids.
Musa maintained that the conditions were external environmental factors beyond the control of air navigation service providers and could not be eliminated, but only managed through established global safety procedures.
He explained that aircraft operations during low-visibility conditions depended on a combination of factors, including real-time weather conditions, runway visibility, aircraft avionics capability, airline operational approval and pilot certification.
Musa expressed that where any of these variables fall below approved safety minima, airlines were required to delay, divert or cancel flights in the interest of safety.
On the allegation that Nigerian airports are ill-equipped to handle harmattan operations, Musa declared that all navigational aids at Federal Government airports are routinely maintained, flight-checked and calibrated in strict compliance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and recommended practices as well as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig CARs).
He pointed out that the maintenance and calibration of navigational aids were mandatory safety requirements, conducted using NAMA’s dedicated flight inspection and calibration aircraft operated by highly trained technical and flight inspection personnel.
Equipment such as Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR), Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) and other Communication, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) infrastructure, he noted, undergo periodic ground and airborne verification to ensure signal accuracy and operational reliability.
The agency clarified that all such activities were carried out under the regulatory oversight of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which audits compliance, validates calibration cycles and enforces corrective actions where necessary.
In December 2025, Musa said NAMA conducted a nationwide round of flight calibration exercises, restoring serviceability timelines across several airports.
Also, calibration exercises are scheduled for Katsina, Jos, Ilorin, Yola and Owerri airports early in the new year, he added.He said: “NAMA cannot compel airlines to operate in weather conditions that fall below their approved operational minima.
He added that historical meteorological data show that the least average runway visibility recorded during Harmattan conditions in Nigeria is approximately 150 metres.
Based on this, Musa said the agency had designed and published instrument approach procedures aligned with ILS CAT II minima, which are adequate to support safe operations during the worst seasonal conditions typically experienced in the country.
