Stakeholders in the Nigerian aviation industry say the government needs to pay more attention to the welfare and comfort of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) in a bid to enhance their concentration. OLUSEGUN KOIKI writes.
The importance of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) to safety and efficiency of air travel cannot be over-emphasised in the global aviation industry.
The ATCOs are vital in expediting and maintaining an orderly flow of air traffic, providing advice and useful information for the safe and efficient conduct of flights, notification of appropriate organisations on aircraft in need of search and rescue aid, and also offer assistance to such organisations as required, among others.
But, in Nigeria, the controllers as they are fondly called, face a myriad of challenges that negatively impact on their jobs, wellbeing and health.
For instance, in Nigeria, the controllers are confronted with financial constraints, inadequate and obsolete infrastructure, poor communication gadgets, absence of spare parts, inadequate training, shortage of staff and high stakes responsibilities.
Stress-related issues is also one of the major challenges confronting air traffic controllers in Nigeria, with a few of them losing their lives while on duty.
In the last decade, some air traffic controllers have slumped and died in the course of duties, with the most recent happening at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.
In November 2021, Aniekan Effiong, an air traffic controller at Abuja airport, had slumped and died on duty.
Reports obtained by our correspondent indicated that the controller in his early 40s could not be rushed to a nearby hospital because of vehicular restrictions to the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON).
The government has over the years failed to walk the talk on improved welfare and comfort for air traffic controllers.
At the 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the umbrella body of ATCOs,, held recently in Kano with the theme: ‘Sustainability of the Renewed Hope Agenda in Aviation: The Imperative of Manpower Development and Air Navigation Service,’ the many of challenges of controllers were discussed, while government on its part as usual, also promised to address some of the problems in order to get the best out of the ATCOs.
In her presentation at the AGM: ‘ATC, Stress, And Stress Management,’ Mrs. Olubunmi Balogun, said that ATC units face unique challenges, depending on their operational focus.
She mentioned tower controllers, which is constant monitoring of visual operations, legal documentation and ground movements and approach controllers, which involved management of sequencing of arrivals/departures as some of the challenges confronting the effectiveness of the controllers.
Others included area controllers, which according to her is ensuring safe separation and efficiency over large airspaces and traffic volumes, which she pointed out add to the workload.
She pointed out that stations handling higher traffic volumes, especially with staff shortages, are prone to increased stress levels.
She mentioned Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu as some of the airports with high traffic volumes and canvassed for “special incentives” for controllers manning the stations with high traffic volumes in order to encourage them.
Besides, in a bid to ward off stress, Balogun recommended personal and workplace approaches for controllers.
According to her, personal approaches included adequate rest and periodic medical checkups, which is seeking of timely help and reporting of unfriendly working conditions to the management, among many others.
Also, Capt. Chris Najomo, Acting Director-General Civil Aviation (ADGCA), in his address, said that manpower development and efficient air navigation services were key to aviation practices globally.
Najomo noted that the recent 14th International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) air navigation conference held in Canada emphasised on the need for manpower development as the main focal point in the sector that could bring growth.
He added: “Air traffic control impacts directly the national economy and national security. My dear controllers, while you engage in deliberations to keep our airspace safe and secure, always have the reason we give our services at the uppermost in your mind – and that is the customer who pays the bills. ATCOs therefore need to continually strive to improve services against all odds to ensure progress and continuity of operations.”
Mr. Joseph Imalighwe, the Acting Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, in his presentation, ‘Modernising Air Traffic Control (ATC) Training in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities,’ described air traffic control as a complex part of the air transport system and a major integral part of Air Traffic Management (ATM), which should not be taken with levity.
He expressed that training in ATCOS, requires special qualities and abilities from all instructors and trainees, which go a long way to influence the efficiency of ATCOs personnel.
Imalighwe maintained that the main goal of air traffic services was to achieve a safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic, stressing that these objectives could only be achieved through a high level of competency concerning the duties of air traffic services.
He added: “A mistake of air traffic controllers can cause terrible misfortunes of human lives, and material losses. That is the motivation behind why in the training period a solid accentuation is put on systems that reproduce the realistic traffic patterns from the least difficult circumstances to the most unpredictable ones.
“Simulators are the only option available in this context. Knowledge is consolidated through experiencing facts. Simulators ignite learning based on experience. The fact that air traffic control services are complex tasks in charge of the safety of many lives makes simulator-based training so important.
“Through these simulators, air traffic controllers acquire enhanced air traffic knowledge because of the inclusion of the reality factor in training to boost learning.”
As part of the challenges confronting the profession in Nigeria, the acting rector mentioned inadequate synchronisation of NCAT, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Agency (NCAA) in developing a seamless competency-based training with the use of the same model of simulators.
He maintained that synchronization of Approved Training Organisations like NCAT and NAMA) and NCAA was paramount in modernizing ATC training in Nigeria.
Engr. Ahmed Farouk, the Managing Director, of NAMA, in his speech, said that Mr. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development last year, had displayed a tremendous commitment to the development of Air Traffic Services (ATS) training and re-training, to bridge the manpower gap within the industry.
Farouk who was represented at the occasion by Mr. Tayo John, Director of Air Traffic Services, mentioned some of these commitments to include free route airspace, which he said had allowed for user-preferred routing and made Nigeria’s airspace user-friendly to many airlines around the world, thereby reducing the workload on ATCOs.
He also said that communication on Nigeria’s Area Control Centre (ACC) frequencies had improved over time, while efforts were still on to get it to the desired level for a seamless and stress-free operation.
He added: “The management is assiduously working to ensure the procurement of a new radar system, to replace the existing Eurocat C Radar system.
“The management is also committed to the improvement of the general welfare of all the staff of the agency, particularly those of you who are professionals in the system.”
Alhaji Abdulmunaf Sarina, Chairman, Azman Airlines, advised the government to migrate the navigation aids of NAMA to satellite-based systems to reduce flight delays, increase safety and security at the country’s aviation industry.
Sarina, who is also the President, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), lamented that the current terrestrial based Navaids were globally becoming obsolete.
Sarina further canvassed for the engagement of additional air traffic controllers across the country with adequate training, warning that failure to do this posed a threat to air safety due to the various human factors that could arise from such a trend.
He further called on the management of NAMA to ensure the installation of Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) equipment to serve as alternate power sources at airports and stations.
Besides, he called on NAMA to immediately commence the development and rollout of a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in line with international best practices for the seamless transition to the Future Air Navigation System (FANS), whilst retaining the terrestrial based system as backup.
Sarina emphasized that it was necessary for the government to adopt proactive policies and take pragmatic steps to promote infrastructure investment, and manpower development through training and re-training of controllers.
“For instance, an Air Traffic Controller working long hours with irregular shifts can suffer fatigue, which can lead to mental exhaustion, impaired judgment, and poor situational awareness.
“Other human factor issues that need to be avoided are stress, poor communication, decision errors, lack of proper planning and overconfidence. Manpower development is therefore an imperative to achieving Sustainability of the Renewed Hope Agenda in Aviation,” he said.
Source: Independent NG
