NAMA Blames Poor Weather For Flight Disruption

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has attributed flight delays, diversions and cancellations commonly experienced during the harmattan season to adverse weather conditions and aircraft operational limitations, rather than failures or neglect of navigational infrastructure.

NAMA clarified this in a statement issued by its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Dr Abdullahi Musa.

Musa dismissed claims that poor maintenance of landing and navigational facilities was responsible for operational disruptions at Nigerian airports during the dusty harmattan period.

He stressed that such disruptions were largely due to prevailing weather conditions, airline operational decisions, and aircraft capabilities.

According to him, harmattan-induced challenges are external environmental factors beyond the control of air navigation service providers and cannot be eliminated, but only managed in line with globally accepted aviation safety procedures.

He explained that aircraft operations during periods of low visibility depend on several critical factors, including real-time weather conditions, runway visibility, aircraft avionics capability, airline operational approvals and pilot certification.

Musa noted that where any of these parameters fall below approved safety minima, airlines are required, in the interest of safety, to delay, divert, or cancel flights.

Reacting to allegations that Nigerian airports are ill-equipped to handle harmattan operations, the NAMA spokesman stated that all navigational aids at Federal Government-owned 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 said the maintenance and calibration of navigational aids are mandatory safety requirements and are carried out using NAMA’s dedicated flight inspection and calibration aircraft, operated by highly trained technical and flight inspection personnel.

Musa listed key 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, noting that they undergo periodic ground and airborne verification to ensure signal accuracy and operational reliability.

He added that all calibration and maintenance activities are conducted under the regulatory oversight of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which audits compliance, validates calibration cycles, and enforces corrective actions where required.

According to Musa, NAMA carried out a nationwide round of flight calibration exercises in December 2025, restoring serviceability timelines across several airports. He disclosed that additional calibration exercises have been scheduled for Katsina, Jos, Ilorin, Yola, and Owerri airports early in the new year.

Musa emphasised that NAMA cannot compel airlines to operate in weather conditions that fall below their approved operational minima.

He further explained that historical meteorological data indicate that the lowest average runway visibility recorded during harmattan conditions in Nigeria is about 150 metres.

Based on this data, he said NAMA has designed and published instrument approach procedures aligned with Instrument Landing System (ILS) Category II minima, which are adequate to support safe flight operations during the most severe seasonal conditions typically experienced in the country.