BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has revealed that the fire outbreak at the old terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport completely destroyed critical air-to-ground communication equipment, dealing a severe operational blow to air traffic management services.
The Managing Director of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Umar Farouk, disclosed this after inspecting the damages caused by the inferno at in Lagos airport, describing the incident as a significant but manageable setback due to swift deployment of contingency systems.
“The fire has affected our air-to-ground communication completely. What we are using to sustain air traffic service now is the backup. We have a lot to do when we are out of this situation,” Farouk said.
He explained that the severity of the damage forced aviation authorities to temporarily suspend inbound flights into Lagos during the height of the emergency.
According to him, the suspension was necessary to prevent safety risks while engineers worked to stabilise operations.
“What we saw was a huge loss as far as communication is concerned. Other air traffic services were disrupted. So we had no option at that time than to suspend inbound aircraft into Lagos,” he said.
Farouk praised frontline aviation workers who remained at their posts during the crisis, noting that their professionalism helped prevent further complications.
“I commend the prompt response to the emergency situation. Some workers actually put their lives in danger because they were supposed to evacuate but chose to stay and salvage the situation,” he added.
He assured the travelling public that normal flight operations have since resumed using backup infrastructure.
Aerodrome control, approach services, and area control functions are currently being sustained through redundant communication systems deployed from other locations.
Authorities are also working to relocate a mobile communication tower, which was delayed due to difficult terrain conditions.
“Hopefully by tomorrow or next, we will be able to move the mobile tower. Air-to-ground communication will remain uninterrupted,” he said.
Farouk reiterated that Nigeria’s airspace remains safe, stressing that built-in redundancy measures prevented the fire incident from escalating into a larger aviation emergency.
Olapeju is a journalist and aviation reporter.
