January 21, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has announced that the international runway of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, known as Runway 18R/36L, would be shut for repairs of some portions of the facility.
According to the Agency, the Runway would be closed on January 22 and January 23 for the rehabilitation of some portions of the facility during the lean hours, when there would be little or zero flight traffic.
A source from NAMA disclosed that NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) has been issued to that effect and that the runway would be closed from 000-0500 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time); that is between 1:00 am to 6:00 am Nigerian Time.
A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight.
NOTAMs are notices or advisories that contain information concerning the establishment, conditions or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard, the timely knowledge of which may be essential to personnel and systems concerned with flight operations.
Such notices are created and transmitted by government agencies and airport operators under guidelines specified by Annex 15: Aeronautical Information Services of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (CICA).
However, another source from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) hinted THEWILL, that even if no flights would be expected during the period the runway would be closed, the issuing of NOTAM was very important so that the global air transport industry would be updated on the status of the runway at that period in case of a flight emergency.
It was gathered that even though airports are under FAAN management, NOTAM is issued by NAMA, which is in charge of communications in Nigeria’s airspace disseminated through the Lagos and Kano Flight Information Regions.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
