….Inaugurates SAR Committee in Calabar.
By Onwa Ekor, Calabar
Following the directives of the International Civil Aviation organization (ICAO), for countries to check their aviation status and ensure they are of standard, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), has embarked on aeronautical search and rescue stakeholders meeting.
This also, is in line with NAMA’s efforts at ensuring aviation safety within the country’s airspace and minimizing losses in aircraft accidents, as well as provide safe and functional air navigation services that will meet international standards.
Declaring the event open at the Departure hall of the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, the Cross River capital, the Managing Director of NAMA, Engr Umar Farouk, explained that the event was apt as anyone who fails to plan has planned to fail.
Farouk who was represented by the Deputy General Manager (search and rescue/civil-military coordination department) Raymond Mela, expressed hope that at the end of the exercise, stakeholders will come out well informed on their roles and functions when an emergency exists.
“NAMA is interested in search and rescue hence, encourages airports to conduct such exercises. We had one in Enugu, now in Calabar and next week is Ilorin.
“The need is for us to be prepared, hoping that it will expose the functions of all in case of any emergency, bearing in mind also that our motto is, that others may live.” Farouk said.
Airspace Manager, Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, Iwalaiye Lanre, on his part, explained that the exercise remains an annual event that is geared towards addressing certain challenges in the case of missing aircraft or an accident.
“Accidents do rarely occur especially on aircrafts but when they do, a lot of things will be involved including human and material loss, since this is an international airport, there is need to get all stakeholders involved in order to address these issues,” Lanre said.
The Airspace Manager who led the search and rescue interactive session, also recalled two incidents of crashed aircrafts about two decades ago, hinting that, collaborating with the Cross River government to organize a stakeholders meeting in the airport and gathering data that are verifiable, has become necessary.
“Our staff have been in the field for the past one month, we are going round the 18 local government areas of the state to get details that are tenable and verifiable, updated yearly and submitted through the Aviation Commissioner to the governor,” he disclosed.
Commissioner for Aviation, Captain Eno Inah (Rtd), represented by the Director (Engineering) in the ministry, Engr Enang Egbe, argued that the event was apt especially at a time when global attention is focused on safety, in terms of air travel hours.
According to him, the present administration in the state led by Prince Bassey Otu, identifies aviation industry as critical hence poised to providing enabling environment for improved infrastructure in the sector alongside urban, social and rural development.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Airport Manager (FAAN), Ayinla Gbolahan, stressed the need for all to take the event seriously as safety issues affect all, even as he charged all to avoid what he termed as ‘cross responsibilities’ leading to waste of manhours during search and rescue operations by stakeholders.
During the interactive session, stakeholders raised concerns over vandalization of airports installations and the need for community members to protect them, avoidance of airports runways, maintenance of aircrafts and need for only sincere persons to undertake rescue operations, among others.
The event featured the inauguration of Search And Rescue committee for Cross River, as well as tabletop mock exercise involving all stakeholders in the search and rescue operations.
