March 14, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), on Thursday, officially handed over ownership of the Navigational Aids Flights Inspection and Surveillance (NAFIS) hangar in Lagos to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), in a formal ceremony which was held at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA) Lagos.
The transfer ceremony, which featured the signing of documents by top officials of NAMA and NCAA, and witnessed by representatives of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development was a culmination of activities which commenced earlier in the week with the inspection of premises and verification of assets contained in the inventory of assets sent to the ministry by the regulatory agency ahead of the handover.
Some of the assets ceded to NAMA include the hangar, an unserviceable calibration aircraft (HS-125), a Ground power generator, a flight calibration laboratory, a library, and offices, among others.
In her remarks after the handover, the representative of NAMA MD and Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services, Engr Terese Iheanacho, expressed optimism that the takeover of the facility by NAMA would not only boost the capacity of the agency in calibration of air navigation systems in the country but also enhance seamlessness and efficiency in the agency’s operations.
“You would recall that the Federal Government, in a bid to reposition NAFIS as a key player providing efficient flight calibration services globally, transferred the operation of the Beechcraft KingAir 350i flight calibration aircraft with registration marking 5N-CAA and crew to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
“It is worthy of note that NAMA has developed an indigenous flight calibration crew with the capacity to undertake routine and commissioning flight calibration services. With this development, NAMA is now fully ready to extend her flight calibration services beyond the shores of Nigeria. The Ministerial directive is what we are implementing here today”, Iheanacho said.
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.
