Pilots rail against complete closure, saying partial closure is possible
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Pilots have rejected the complete closure of the domestic runway of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMIA), Lagos which began on 8 July and will last 90 days to upgrade equipment and install Air Field Lighting.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said international and local airlines have to use only the international runway (18R/36L) for landing and take-off during the three-month period.
But local and international airlines argue the move will force aircraft to burn more fuel while holding in the air for landing clearance.
Some pilots and aviation groups expressed support for the repairs, coming after more than 10 years of neglect.
But they urged FAAN to partially close the runway because complete closure would cause heavy traffic congestion in the airspace.
Ado Sanusi (former Aero Contractors Managing Director and former Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) MD)
“The good thing about the Lagos airport is that it has two runways and both will not be closed at the same time. So, one is going to be in use while the other will be closed.
“The only negative thing is that the airlines will have to burn more fuel because there’s an increase in taxing time and since it’s one runway, traffic will be a little bit more and so there will be delays in the air.
“But the entire problem is not even that, the airport runway lighting is something that should have been done, they resurfaced that runway, so it’s something they should have done then at that time.”
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Ibrahim Mshelia (West Link Aviation CEO)
“It is exciting to hear that the lights are coming on finally, but I’m afraid that closing it [runway] completely will create real traffic chaos. The current curfew on that runway should not be tampered with for obvious reasons.
“Night construction is possible and will maintain the status quo and cause less or no effect to the current traffic flow and airlines’ operations,” Mshelia told The PUNCH.
“Closing it [runway] completely will create heavy arrival and departure aerial traffic and ground traffic. Air traffic controllers will be stacking aircraft overhead Lagos overwhelmingly with the epileptic radar.
“Even if the radar was fully functional, when all the aircraft arrive, the air traffic control officers can do little or nothing besides stacking them overhead [the airport]. Aircraft will have to keep holding [in the air] and take turns to land.
“I see so many flight diversions and possible declarations of emergency. This is also rainy season, a wrong time to do this in my opinion. I am looking at this as a pilot who knows the airspace for decades.
“The installation can begin after sunset daily, using construction lights till sunrise, then sweep off and open the 18L/36R at sunrise for normal use as currently being done daily.
“Technology exists today that you don’t even need to close a runway completely to patch, de-rubberise or resurface. The contractors should know this and what to do.
“This is a 2.7km runway. Even if it takes two years, we have waited 10 years doing daylight operations without hope of when. Now we can continue and we know when.
“But if the government chooses that closing it completely will be what it will do, then it should expect and prepare for crisis and the airlines should expect crisis of schedule delays and diversions.
“Flight planning provisions allow for only 20 mins holding, this will be overwhelmed almost all the time in Lagos, and aircraft diversions will be very rampant and operators will pay heavily.
“We also need to prepare for tension at work for controllers and pilots.”
James Daniel (pilot)
“Do the authorities appreciate the cost that airlines will incur due to waiting times at the holding point? Have they even tried to calculate how much fuel will be burnt by airlines waiting for their turn to take off?
“A few years ago, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport which at the time was the busiest airport in the world, replaced the whole runway (please note I said replaced, not resurfaced) in 30 days, and that included lighting, how?
“Planning. It is that simple. 90 days? Ridiculous.”