Airspace Manager Decries Inadequate Staff Strength

The Manager, Nigeria Airspace  Management Authority (NAMA), Owerri Airport, Mr. Paul Akalazu has decried the low level of staff in the service of the agency at the Owerri airport.
Akalazu,  who spoke in an interview with newsmen at the Owerri airport recently, noted that under-staffing is one of the major challenges the agency is facing at the airport.
He said that the Owerri airport has only three air traffic controllers, even as busy as the airport is, pointing out that the agency in a normal circumstance is supposed to have up to five or six air traffic controllers.
The airspace manager frowned at the rate the staff strength is going down steadily, even as people keep on retiring from service without a replacement.
“We have a situation here where staff keep retiring everyday without a replacement. We have made request from the higher authority, but where are the staff?, Akalazu asked.
On the airlines operations at the airport, the airspace manager explained that they have four regular schedule airlines that come to the Owerri airport.
The airlines according to him include the Arik airline, Airpeace, Dana and the Aero Contractors airlines, adding that other private jets also usually bring in politicians and businessmen at the airport.
“Don’t forget that Owerri is strategically positioned to coordinate traffic for Abia, Anambra and part of Ebonyi States.
“I would remember that Governor Rochas Okorocha has started the move. By the time the cargo shed he is building is completed and some other things like Customs, Immigration come in, and with the approval from the presidency, the airport is already having an international status, but basically cargo- oriented “, he said.