Posted by By UCHE USIM on
Peeved by last week's incident at the Port Harcourt Airport where an Air France aircraft ran into cows, the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has recalled the Port Harcourt Airport Manager and all the departmental heads to the headquarters in Lagos.
Peeved by last week's incident at the Port Harcourt Airport where an Air France aircraft ran into cows, the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has recalled the Port Harcourt Airport Manager and all the departmental heads to the headquarters in Lagos.
Subsequently, the Airport Manager of Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Mr Ikem Amadiume has been posted to Port Harcourt to head the place.
Briefing newsmen in Lagos Monday, the General Manager, Public Affairs of FAAN, Adamu Abdullahi disclosed that it would be unfair to suspend or sack the Airport Manager because he had made efforts in the past to check the issue of cows entering the runway.
According to Adamu, the man had met the traditional ruler of Omogwa community and discussed the issue and the need to clear the surrounding bush with him, but he told him that they had their shrines in the bush around the airport and so will not clear it. "He also met the head of cattle rearers and told them of the danger of cows crossing the runway and a mutual agreement was reached."
Blaming the incident partly on the problem of center light which the airport experiences, Adamu said there was also poor coordination between the Air Traffic Controllers and the engineers who switch power to NEPA from generator and vice versa. So at a point, there was power failure prior to the incident.
He however revealed that the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) is still investigating the incident, pointing out that the bureau's report will form the backbone of further actions the management will take on the issue.
According to him, fresh officers have been posted to Port Harcourt as departmental heads, while the Terminal Manager of Abuja Airport takes over as the Airport Manager of Calabar.
As a way of preventing a re-occurrence, the FAAN spokesman said the management has ordered that the airport be swept and scanned every 30 minutes as against the earlier hourly sweeping, adding that auto power switch over will soon be provided in airports across the country.
"We have also enforced the shoot at sight order given by the Minister of Aviation. This will be very deterrent because a Fulani cattle rearer will never want his cow killed. We're also building shades at various points to house security agents because Port Harcourt experiences heavy rains this season", he said.
To pacify the aggrieved Air France, Adamu said FAAN has waived the parking and landing fees that particular aircraft had to pay, adding that the authority allowed Air France to bring in a Boeing 777 to accommodate both the passengers who had hitherto missed their flight and new ones.
On the needed perimeter fence for Port Harcourt and two other international airports, Adamu said the project would gulp about N3 billion which he said is a big challenge to FAAN.