Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Nigeria
Nigeria has launched their road map for transformation from terrestrial air navigation to satellite based navigation, otherwise called Performance Based Navigation (PBN). The implementation of the transformation is in three phases, the first starting last year with full implementation by 2012. The airports under this phase are the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos; Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and Port Harcourt International Airport.
The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, said there was no going back on this transformation and he enjoined all the stakeholders — especially airline operators — to brace up for the new trend by ensuring their aircraft are eqipped with necessary equipment on board for easy link-ups with the orbiting satellites. He commended the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) for laying the foundation for the transformation with the completion of World Geodatic Survey (WGS 84) of the country’s airspace and the procedural design of for the four aforementioned airports in 2010.
The Director General asserted that PBN remains the most valuable solution to Nigeria’s Air Navigation problems, illustrated by its benefits that include enhanced safety, fuel economy, elimination of flight delays and reduced cancellations, among other benefits. He said it was the desire of the Authority to also extend the PBN implementation to helicopter on-shore and off-shore operations. “As FAA Category 1 nation, Nigeria has already begun the transition to future Air Traffic Management (ATM) operating environment that will be at par with the most advanced ATM environment in the world. A key component of this transition is, of course, Performance Based Navigation (PBN).” (Source: OfficialWire, Lateef Lawai)
