The Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency NAMA, Captain Fola Akinkuotu as again assured no no stone will be left unturned in ensuring the AIS Automation process remains on course.
He stressed that Management will do their utmost to see the process through within the limits of the scarce resources available.
Speaking at this year’s World AIS Day at Mokola, Ibadan in Oyo State, he observed that it was very important that members of Internationally Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO migrate from Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) to Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) because the world was constantly changing with technology improving at fast rate.
Due to the dynamic nature of information management, Captain Akinkuotu stressed that dissemination of Aeronautical Information was increasingly moving away from the obsolete way of doing things manually to a more digital and carefully managed process.
To this end, Capt Akinkuotu canvassed the need for all AIS installations to move away from the regular AIS procedures to Aeronautical Information Management (AIM).
According to Akinkuotu, it was in the realisation of this importance that NAMA Management had taken the decision to see the Automation of AIS to a logical conclusion.
Akinkuotu condemned a situation whereby an AIS Personnel fails to disseminate the right information or delays it due to negligence on his or her part, warning that such instances could lead to very unfortunate circumstances.
He said “When NOTAMS are not carefully done and promptly issued, it could leave a lot of people that depend on such information in the safety chain in the dark”
He emphasised that training and retraining would play a great role in equipping AIS personnel to meet the demands and challenges that automation and the new AIM would bring.
He further pointed out that ICAO had equally been proactive in introducing yet another document which clearly caters for this, adding that “Management will therefore do its best at ensuring regular training among your members across board in a bid to secure the future of this great organisation through proper succession plans” .
“While everyone expects us to do all of their biddings, it is pertinent to state at this juncture that management itself is also constrained by a number of challenges and has the responsibility of juggling so many issues all at once in a manner whereby it does its best to keep the organisation going in the overall interest while trying to meet specific needs”, Akinkuotu said.
Akinkuotu used the opportunity to solicit AIMAN’s cooperation and understanding to work together for the good of NAMA and ultimately for Nigeria as all must join hands to build the organization to ensure it collective survival.
Highlighting the importance of AIS, Akinkuotu emphasised that Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) was a critical part of the safety chain in aviation.
One wrong information, he said could lead to catastrophic results and the consequent damage was better imagined than experienced.
“Pilots are only as good in the sky as the integrity of the information they receive. All through the flight, he is continually seeking for information to guide him and this information must be real time because he may have to make instant judgement in order to take required decisions”, Akinkuotu stressed.
