FAAN deepens emergency response at Abuja airport

The Regional Manager of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (North Central) and Airport Manager of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Comrade Ahmed Danjuma, has revealed that the response system mechanism at the Airport still remains weak with some gaps that need to be addressed urgently. He stated this in Abuja on Thursday during a […]

The Regional Manager of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (North Central) and Airport Manager of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Comrade Ahmed Danjuma, has revealed that the response system mechanism at the Airport still remains weak with some gaps that need to be addressed urgently.

He stated this in Abuja on Thursday during a full scale emergency simulation.

He said the mock aircraft crash exercise, a compulsory drill conducted every two years, was designed to test the airport’s real time response capacity across agencies, resources and coordination channels.

 “We are here to appraise ourselves, debrief and identify the weaknesses,” adding that “every observation from the drill would be documented and circulated to all stakeholders for immediate action.”

Danjuma explained that emergency management in aviation is a multi-agency responsibility, noting that the exercise involved NEMA, Red Cross, Air Force, Police, NSCDC, Federal Fire Service, FRSC and several hospitals across Abuja, including FMC and Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital.

“When an accident happens at an aerodrome, many agencies are required to assist,” he said.

He noted that although response time improved compared to previous drills, several operational lapses still emerged.

Assessing the performance, Danjuma said the exercise achieved its purpose by revealing gaps in communication, resource deployment, traffic control and inter-agency alignment.

“We identified issues and we will go back to the drawing board,” adding that “Closing those gaps was critical because a real emergency would not offer a second chance,”

He explained that coordination from the Emergency Operations Centre to the staging area, rendezvous point and the family and friends centre worked relatively well but still required streamlining to reduce delays and conflicting instructions.

On stakeholder participation, Danjuma said agencies that made commitments in earlier meetings fully delivered.