MMIA power outage: A lesson to the minister

Passengers  who could not stay in the  terminal  for fear of suffocation,  remained outside the terminal, which was  also  very dark, before  light  which  went out at about3.47pm, was restored  at about  7.33 pm. On many occasions, the air conditioning system   had severally packed up while the authorities of FAAN continued to promise to effect […]

Passengers  who could not stay in the  terminal  for fear of suffocation,  remained outside the terminal, which was  also  very dark, before  light  which  went out at about3.47pm, was restored  at about  7.33 pm. On many occasions, the air conditioning system   had severally packed up while the authorities of FAAN continued to promise to effect some repairs and overhaul the terminal, which they never did.

 The authority collects revenue such as  landing , parking, passenger service charge and other miscellenous  charges from airlines and other  airport users  to maintain  the same environment, but unfortunately, the airports which are supposed  to be  the gateway  to the nation, are not  living  up to  expectations  because  they  do not receive  the necessary attention required; monies meant for their maintenance are never deployed . Instead, it finds its way into private pockets.

 Need it be said further that the authority and the federal government should take steps to ensure that   no major disaster befalls innocent passengers as a result of increasing deteriorating service levels at the airport.

The situation on Sunday would have had far more reaching consequences if the safe tower had been affected. But fortunately, major reports of that day had it that safe tower was working uninterruptedly. Therefore, the airspace around Lagos was safe.

This was in spite of the chaos and confusion on the ground. Air traffic controllers did not lose touch with pilots in the aircraft, it was reliably gathered that the Automatic Terminal Information System (ATIS), was still able to broadcast important airport and metrological information to pilots.

An enormous UPS system, including some  140  backup  batteries provided  independent, uninterrupted power supply  for the control tower, the respective terminals  in the metrological office  and the equipment room for more than a record ten hours .

 Last Sunday’s incident was largely blamed on the lackluster attitude of FAAN which in the past, had paid lip service to passenger safety. Of course, the authority and its spin doctors are no new comers on this turf. It would be recalled that upon hearing that a new minister was assigned to the aviation ministry in 2008, the authority in a bid to impress him hurriedly commissioned the 18 Left runway without the benefit of an air field lighting.

This has made it impossible for aircraft to use that runway after seven o’clock.

They then promised to put in the air field lighting.

Alas up till now, two years after, the runway still remains without the lighting.

    Just last week, the Minister of Aviation, Mrs.Fidelia Njeze, after a tour of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), promised to tackle the plethora of problems   that has bedeviled the aviation industry, including decaying infrastructure.

She also announced that her ministry would also face areas that are critical; areas that would make services at the airport adequate and complete and also guarantee safety.

At this juncture, it may be worth noting that the cables that got burnt at the terminal of MMIA on Sunday and caused the power outage had outlived their lifespan.

They   were last replaced in 1994. A similar outage had occurred at the same airport when the original wires installed when it was built in 1979 became weak.

In view of the fact that the minister has a very limited time to make the most impact in the industry, she may do well to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of all modern equipment installed at the airports.

This she can do by ensuring that these modern equipment are subjected to professional and regular maintenance and repairs.

It will also be a plus to conclude maintenance agreement with the original contractor of the safe tower; the safe tower equipment at MMIA, Lagos, has been working for three years now without any reported breakdown. It would be totally irresponsible to allow this valuable equipment to deteriorate and thus risk human lives.

According to President Goodluck Jonathan, the positions held by the ministers is not going to be static for the eleven months they have left in office.

There would be a review subject to performance in the next three months. Mrs. Njeze should leave her mark on the sands of time and now is the time.

Odeh wrote from Abuja