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NCAA Cautions Pilots, Airlines, Others Over Bad Weather

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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued a weather alert cautioning pilots, airline operators and air traffic controllers on the inherent danger associated with severe thunderstorms.

The agency in an official statement issued yesterday, signed by its general manager, Public Affairs, Sam Adurogboye stated that these hazards include severe turbulence, microburst, low level wind shears and hail events that could affect the safety of flight operations.

It noted that the weather alert is necessitated by the fact that rainy season, at onset, is usually accompanied with severe thunderstorms and many other hazardous weather phenomena.

“The Advisory Circular (AC) is based on the year 2017 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet). It indicates that rainy season is predicted to commence in March/April and May/June 2017 in the Southern and Northern parts of Nigeria respectively”.

NCAA also enumerated series of responsibilities for pilots, operators and Air Traffic Controllers which include that “Air Traffic Controllers may temporarily close airspace when hazardous weather conditions such as severe thunderstorms, squall lines microburst or low level wind-shear are observed or forecast; and that Flight Crews/Operators and Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) shall ensure adherence to aerodrome weather minima”

Other responsibilities as stated by the agency are that “Pilots shall exercise maximum restraint whenever adverse weather is observed or forecast; Pilots/Flight Crew Members shall obtain adequate departure, en-route and destination weather information and briefing from NiMet Aerodrome Meteorological Offices prior to flight operations”. It added that from the foregoing, the regulatory authority will expect strict compliance.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 22 Nigerian students comprising of pupils and students of Glisten International College, Abuja are presently stranded in Istanbul, Turkey over flight delays by Turkish Airline, making it impossible for the students to return as scheduled.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the teenagers who are between the ages of 11and 14 at a point, had no other option than to sleep at the resting area of the airport terminal over night with just blankets provided for them by the management of the airline.

For passing the night at the resting area, it was also gathered that the team, which had gone to United States to represent Nigeria in a competition few weeks ago, was made to part with the sum of $40 each, totalling $880.

A source close to the school who confirmed the incident, informed that the students had boarded Turkish Airlines flight from Abuja, Nigeria to US with a stopover at Istanbul Airport. The delay however, occurred on the return leg; US-Istanbul-Abuja of the flight.

Information gathered by our correspondent indicated that the flight from US to Istanbul was delayed for an hour by the same airline and as at the time the flight eventually departed US and arrived at Istanbul for the connecting flight, the Istanbul-Abuja flight had already departed.

The source said that when the team contacted the management of the airline in Turkey for a better accommodation, the airline declined, saying that they could not be responsible for their accommodation despite the fact the flight miss was not their own making.

“These are children between the ages of 11 and 15 years and are exposed to this harsh treatment.”

Meanwhile, all efforts made to get a reaction from Turkish Airlines in Nigeria proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.


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