|
BNW |
|
B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
THE fear being expressed by some airlines and passengers over safety and security in and around the country's airports is not misplaced. If anything it has been justified following a power outage in the country's foremost airport, Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos. The incident is most disheartening and worrisome. It certainly calls for a concerted effort by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) which so far has portrayed itself as either too slow to react appropriately to the glaring nuisance; or that it does not consider the development as being more than a routine Nigerian problem. Any incident or series of events that have the potential of isolating the country from the comity of nations ought to be treated with seriousness.
On Saturday October 2, 2004 in Ikeja, Lagos, electricity supply went off on the runway between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., forcing some international flights to be diverted to Accra in Ghana. Naturally, the experience was very unpleasant for the passengers who recounted how their planes hovered around the Murtala Mohammed Airport for 45 minutes. It is to be expected also that airline operators who are internationally based would complain and even contemplate a boycott of the airport. Such a temptation is justified in the interest of their passengers, whose safety is paramount to the corporate existence of the airlines.
It is more disheartening that the last major incident appears to be one in a chain of power outages that have become rather frequent. Besides, it is a trend that is noticeable in some other airports in the country. For instance, Virgin Atlantic Airline's General Manager (West Africa) Mr. Peter Barry, has reportedly complained about the way the airfield lighting cables were laid, particularly those at the International Airport in Port Harcourt.
In the case of Lagos, there is evidence that a little care and professional anticipation could have averted the October 2 outage on the runway which had earlier been closed due to its bad state. In the absence of an official explanation, there is credence in the suggestion that some electricity cables were displaced or otherwise disrupted in the process of marking the runway; and that this could have caused the fault in the runway lighting system.
The fault could have been detected through a thorough check after the marking. Considering the importance of a lit runway to the taking off and landing of planes in an airport, such due diligence ought not to have been overlooked. Granted that Nigeria is still underdeveloped in terms of power generation and distribution, it is time, however, the authorities recognised that an international airport is a gateway into the country. It simply cannot be tolerated that such an institution is left to the vagaries of local inefficiency, as this is capable of sending the wrong message to the international community which is already used to a given standard. If our airports are not safe because of the likelihood of a power outage or a malfunction in electricity supply in vital areas, we should not expect to be taken seriously by the rest of the world. Neither should we expect the world to fold its arms and watch as other nationals are exposed to the danger ensuing from our substandard airport facilities.
What happened at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport should not be allowed to happen again. The FAAN should henceforth show more interest in the safety of planes and passengers. We shudder to think of the calamity that could have resulted from a runway suddenly thrown into darkness when a plane is landing or taking off. We should ask ourselves why we cannot attain a minimum acceptable standard, when even smaller and less resourceful countries in Africa and the world can maintain such standards.
What is required from the airports management authorities is some discipline and diligence and regular maintenance of facilities. Where a fault occurs unexpectedly, it should be regarded as an emergency. The FAAN should put in place a rapid response unit to address such a situation so that rectification can take place within a short time. There should also be a back up to regular sources of power in certain key areas of the airport, to provide temporary service in case of power outage.
In all cases, it is important to offer specific explanations when an outage occurs. Many travellers have little or no experience of such description from their countries of origin. An appropriate message will therefore go some way to assuage their apprehension. The ideal thing however is to prevent such outage in the future.
The task before FAAN however goes beyond ensuring steady supply of electricity in the airports. Many other facilities and services at the airports are failing, thereby giving rise to ill consequences. Passengers, for instance, are still losing their luggage for inexplicable reasons other than the inefficiency of airport services. At other times, the luggage is tampered with and the contents are pilfered. During peak periods, it is not too difficult for an unauthorised person to walk away with a baggage belonging to someone else, meaning that security is still porous.
At other times, facilities such as scanning machines and automatic doors have broken down, thereby causing needless congestion and encouraging touting. These are just some of the issues at the airport requiring immediate attention of the authorities. Until they are all reasonably addressed, the international aviation community will continue to put a question mark on Nigeria's membership of its club.
|
|
||||||||||||
