The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has solicited the support of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in the co-management of the Accra airspace. This included Togo and Benin as against (Agency for Arial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar’s (ASECNA’s) plan to sectorize the airspace.

This was disclosed by the visiting top-level technical team of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority led by its Director General, Abdulahi Alhassan, at the NAMA headquarters complex in Lagos after a facility tour of some of the agency’s installations at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos including the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) site and Control Tower.

The team also expressed delight in the capacity and performance of the TRACON equipment in guaranteeing safety of air navigation in the country. “We are highly impressed with what we have seen here, both in terms of technical infrastructure and human capacity to effectively man these facilities and guarantee safety of air travel in the country,”  Alhassan said.

He said ASECNA had not followed due process in its bid to sectorize the Accra airspace. “It is our belief that ASECNA has not followed due process in its bid to sectorize the Accra airspace. It is a matter that the three bodies (ASECNA, GCAA and NAMA) should discuss on a round table because of its regional safety and security implications and the position of Ghana is that we co-manage the airspace rather than sectorize it,” added Alhassan.

Managing Director of NAMA, Engineer Ibrahim Abdulsalam, maintained was disposed to a peaceful and amicable resolution of aviatIon issues. “We are committed to co-operating with both Ghana and ASECNA in our determination to ensure safety of the African sky,” Abdulsalam said.

Credit: CAJ News