Ghana CAA gives kudos to Nigeria’s TRACON, as NAMA wraps up calibration

A top-level technical team of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has expressed delight in the capacity and performance of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) equipment in guaranteeing safety of air navigation in the country.

The team led by the director general of the Ghana CAA, Abdulahi Alhassan, praised NAMA after a facility tour of some of the agency’s installations at the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos.  The GCAA delegation also visited the TRACON site and Control Tower.

“We are highly impressed with what we have seen here, both in terms of technical infrastructure and human capacity to effectively man these facilities and guarantee safety of air travel in the country” Alhassan said.

At a reception at the NAMA headquarters complex, the GCAA DG told officials of NAMA that their mission to Nigeria was to seek the nation’s support in the co-management of the Accra airspace which includes Togo and Benin as against ASECNA’s plan to sectorize the airspace.

He said “it is our belief that ASECNA has not followed due process in its bid to sectorize the Accra airspace. It is a matter that the three bodies (ASECNA, GCAA and NAMA) should discuss on a round table because of its regional safety and security implications and the position of Ghana is that we can co-manage the airspace rather than sectorize it.”

In his own remark, the managing director of NAMA, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam, an engineer, maintained that as neighbours, Nigeria is in the middle of the whole issue which makes it imperative for a quick resolution to be sought.

He assured them that Nigeria was disposed to a peaceful and amicable resolution of the issues, stressing that “we are committed to co-operating with both Ghana and ASECNA in our determination to ensure safety of the African sky.”

Abdulsalam also promised to open a line of communication with ASECNA on the possibility of the three organizations meeting at the WACAF office in Dakar and amicably resolving the issues.

Meanwhile, the airspace agency has successfully rounded off the calibration of navigational aids across the country.  The operation which lasted ten days was handled by a technical team from ASECNA in collaboration with NAMA engineers.  Leader of the ASECNA calibration team, Engr. Nganan Jorim expressed delight over what he referred to as “the most successful calibration exercise in recent time.’’