-
Asaba Airport Not Managed By Us —FAAN
BY CHIKA KWAMBA
THE Managing Director, Asaba Airport Company (AAC), Christophe Penninck has reaffirmed the managment commitment to ensuring the safety of air travelers, in accordance with the standards of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
This reassurance came in the wake of a recent runway intrusion incident, which is currently under investigation to prevent any future occurrences.
Recall that an Air Peace aircraft was grounded over the weekend after colliding with an antelope while taxiing on the runway of the Asaba International Airport.
In response to the incident, the Managing Director of AAC, Christophe Penninck, who spoke with The Pointer correspondent via WhatsApp, stated: “Asaba Airport has a perimeter hence; yet it’s not 100 percent completed. The massive development of the city around the airport has attracted vandals to steal part of the fence. We also have had part of the fence completely washed away due to heavy rains and erosion.
“Unfortunately, we have also had people encroaching into the airport land to build houses or start farming. All these challenges have been taken seriously.
“The current leadership of Delta State, together with our company have embarked on a massive project to replace the fence with wall and to lay a road around the airport. We have also gotten full collaboration of the various ministries of the state to tackle the land encroachment.
“The airport is very secure for flight operations. This is the first time we had such an incident. We have many measures in place to prevent animals or any other presence on and around the runway: armed men are stationed around the runway, we have constant day and night patrols.
“We manage the fauna around the runway and we have scare devices. We suspect that the animal’s habitat was recently disturbed by the works on the road and new wall. Once the wall is completed we will have a sterile runway environment.
“To avoid another case of animal presence, we have hired extra men to go hunt the animals at night. In addition, we have sent out men to comb the bushes around the airport, tasking the contractor of the wall and road to be on the lookout for animals for immediate signal as hunters will do the rest.
“We pride ourselves to have a safe, secure and efficient airport. For the past four years we have operated the airport without such incident and have invested massively into security equipment and also acquired wildlife management equipment.
“Unfortunately, when a city develops around the airport and the natural habitat of animals is disappearing, we scare them and they tend to run away. This incident has put us on high alert and the measures we have taken will certainly avoid any reoccurrence”, he said.
Meanwhile the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says, Asaba Airport, location of the collision between an antelope and Air Peace Aircraft is not under its management.
The FAAN Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mrs Obiageli Orah, made the clarification on Monday, via FAAN official X Account @FAAN_Official.
“We will like to state that this incident did not occur at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, which is managed by FAAN
“The incident happened at the privately managed Asaba Airport, which is owned by Delta State Government,” she said
Orah frowned at some media reports which erroneously claimed that the incident occurred at the Abuja airport ‘
“FAAN, urges the public and media outlets to verify information through official channels to prevent the spread of misinformation.
The Director, on behalf of FAAN, sympathised with the parties involved in the collision.
It would be recalled that an Air Peace aircraft was grounded on Sunday, at the Asaba International Airport in Delta State after it collided with a large antelope while taxiing on the runway.
