Air traffic workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Air Traffic Controller Association (NATCA) rose from a two days retreat in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, urging the federal government to re-construct the burnt Maiduguri and Kaduna Control Towers.
The call was part of the concerns of the body voiced out in a 7-point communiqué issued at the weekend in Uyo.
The Kaduna Control Towers got burnt in April 2014, while that of Maiduguri also got burnt few months after and since then no effort has been spared to rebuild and modernise them.
Concerned about their state and conditions, the controllers said the renovation of the burnt towers would add to and enhance the provision of the air traffic control services and efficiency.
“The Federal Ministry of Transportation should, as matter of urgency, see to the reconstruction of the burnt Maiduguri Control Tower and the completion of the abandoned Kaduna control tower project to ensure the provision of the Air Control services without compromising standard,” the communiqué reads in parts.
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According to the communiqué which was signed by the association’s President, Victor Eyaru and General Secretary, Banji Olawale, the controller equally voiced out their frustration on decision of the federal government to abandon the Taxi-B and the runway 18l/36R lightening system at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport.
Eyaru called on the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), to speed up the ongoing upgrading of the VHF Radios and other associated communication/ surveillance facilities to meet international best practices.
The president who decried the absence of national health Insurance scheme equally enjoined the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to speed up the implementation of the regulatory framework guiding the operations of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems within the Nigeria airspace.
He decried inadequate staffing of controller and called on NAMA to recruit a minimum of 40 Air Traffic Controllers annually to close the gap of manpower deficiency.
