The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has summoned the heads of aviation agencies in the country over recurring safety issues in the industry.
The meeting, scheduled for Monday in Abuja, will bring together executives from the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Kayamo, in a statement on Monday, said the meeting will focus on “discussing the recent accidents in the sector and will thereafter brief the press on the outcome of the deliberation to avert such occurrences.”
The minister’s summons follows a recent incident on Sunday, November 26, in which a United Nigeria Airlines flight from Lagos to Abuja was diverted to Asaba Airport.
The unexpected diversion prompted confusion among passengers, who grappled with the sudden alteration to their travel plans.
Later, the United Nigeria Airlines spokesperson, Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu, said that the diversion of the affected aircraft, NUA 0504, occurred “due to poor destination weather.”
Uchegbu also noted that the pilots were well-informed about the diversion and had been properly briefed, but that there was a “miscommunication with the cabin crew,” who incorrectly announced their arrival in Abuja after landing in Asaba.
The Guardian
