Ikeja – The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), on Wednesday warned its staff against aiding the theft of cables and lightening gadgets at the Murtala Muhammed Airport’s runway in Lagos.
FAAN Director of Airport Operations, Capt. Henry Omeogu, gave the warning at the 2015 Murtala Muhammed Airport Safety Week in Lagos.
Omeogu said that the theft had jeopardised the smooth landing of aircraft at the runways of the airport.
The director, however, warned that any worker caught in the act would not go unpunished.
He said that the agency had spent huge amount of money to replace the missing cables that were critical to the smooth operation of the runway.
FAAN official alleged that the equipment was stolen by those mandated to oversee them.
He said both actions and inaction of the personnel often resulted in incidents involving IRS, HAK, Emirates and FirstNation aircraft either while landing or taxing along the taxiways.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
The decried an indiscriminate posting of untrained personnel to the air side.
Omeogu cited two incidents at the Port Harcourt airport when an aircraft landed and veered into the grass area, having mistakenly taken a foreign object on the runway.
According to him, this is due to the malfunctioning of bulbs of the centre light.
“An air side driver ignorantly drove a construction vehicle across the runway at the Enugu Airport during an inspection tour of the facility.
“That is why l frown at the indiscriminate posting of untrained personnel by both the airport authority and the airlines to the air side as these personnel are nothing but hazards.
“They may cause serious and regrettable accidents.”
Omeogu said that the authority was investigating the theft.
He challenged the personnel to work round the clock to identify cracks on the runway, wildfire, oil spillage and indiscriminate parking.
Omegu said “accidents and incidents that involve vehicles on the air side are attributed to lack of training, influence of drugs, and speeding on the apron and air side. This must be avoided. ”
The safety week is to provide awareness to stakeholders and travelers on the need to observe safety culture at the airport environment. (NAN)