NCAA: Why Bayelsa Airport is not Certified for Commercial Operations

 The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it has not certified the Bayelsa State International Airport in Yenagoa for scheduled commercial flight operations because the facility is still porous without perimeter fencing.

The agency said the security status of the airport currently is gullible to breaches, so the safety of travellers and equipment cannot be guaranteed at the airport.

This was disclosed on Monday to aviation correspondents by the acting Director-General of NCAA, Captain Abdullahi Sidi, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

The acting director-general said the absence of adequate perimeter fencing at the airport prevented the regulatory authority from issuing it certification for commercial flight service.

Sidi, however, made a firm promise that once the perimeter fences are installed, NCAA would not hesitate to certify the airport for the commencement of operations, stressing that the government would not compromise security.

According to him, “Somebody called me on the issue of Bayelsa State Airport, then, after I did my own investigation, I found out that the airport still needs something very critical. Perimeter fencing is number one requirement for any airport, which is safety. Someone said the government has done about 60 per cent of the perimeter fencing and that the other side of the airport is creek, but I said that is not acceptable to the aviation industry.

“That perimeter fencing is the only thing remaining in the Bayelsa State airport. There is no politics about it. That is the requirement. And anything security is taken seriously. It is a security issue. If we need to close an airport because of security issue, we will close it until they comply. That is the requirement. And anything security is taken seriously. If we need to close an airport because of security issue, we will until everything is done.”

On the improvement of security at many of the country’s airports, Sidi commended the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for providing quality security systems at most of the airports under its management, particularly the international aerodromes.   

He noted that despite some of the teething challenges at the airports, the major aerodromes in Lagos and Abuja have continued to receive high ratings in the area of security in the international community.

Sidi, who is also the Director of Operations and Training, NCAA, explained that Lagos and Abuja airports have consistently scored over 90 per cent in international security audits, stressing that the government was focusing on security and safety at the country’s airports.

He explained that air and the passenger sides of the airports are equipped with security gadgets like the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, which made it extremely difficult for intruders to penetrate restricted areas of the airports without detection, recalling that as far back as December 2009, during the underpants bomber, Abdumutallab, the security gadgets installed in strategic areas were able to track him down.

According to him, without the high security networks in Nigerian airports, the United States carrier, Delta, would have stopped operation into the country, disclosing that the US Department of Transport (DoT) audits the Lagos airport almost every three months because of the US interest.