“Poor Runway Lighting”: FAAN Explains Why Kano-bound Aircraft Landed in Lagos Airport
- FAAN said a runaway glitch necessitated the diversion of a Kano-bound flight to Lagos
- Management had to escalate the issue calling for the activation of NOTAM to allow for proper repairs
- Service has now been restored, and appropriate operations have resumed since the incident
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The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said it diverted flights to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport due to poor runway lighting at the Kano airport.
Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua, the director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, said the diversion became necessary after a glitch was discovered on Runway 06/24 on July 15, 2023, at about 1600hrs.
Source: UGC
According to a Leadership report, after efforts to restore power failed, Yakubu-Funtua said the airport management needed to activate a Notice to Air Men (NOTAM) to allow for repairs.
However, he noted that the service had been restored, and the night operation had resumed.
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Why the flight was diverted
Yakubu-Funtua explained that the glitch was discovered by the airfield maintenance team of FAAN, who observed that the runway lighting refused to come on even after replacing old and weak Airfield cables with new ones at runway 06/24 as per the scheduled daily maintenance work.
He said the maintenance team had to swing into action, initiating fault-finding procedures to identify the problem along the cable route and restore power to the airfield lighting circuit.
However, the authority observed that the issue was beyond its expectation as it affected the entire runway circuit and caused the failure of the Runway 06/24 edge light, PAPI and signage and the Taxiway Alpha edge light.
Abdullahi said:
“As at 1900hrs local time, the fault had yet to be isolated and power supply to the runway could not be restored leaving Runway in a total blackout which affected night operations. Arriving flights had to be diverted to alternate airports.
Between 2300hrs on July 15 and 07:00hrs on July 16, 2023, he said that the operations department had to initiate a NOTAM action to close the Runway 06/24 for proper checks.
Expressing the inconvenience due to the diversion, he noted that new cables had been installed, adding that runaway lights had also been restored on Sunday, July 16, and night operations have resumed.
Air operators on high alert by CCAA over fuel contamination scarce
In related news, Legit.ng reported that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had released an informative notice called the All Operator's Letter (AOL), notifying airline operators about fuel contamination occurrences within the aviation sector.
This was taken in response to identifying a significant amount of water found in a Max Air aircraft fuel tank. Consequently, all Boeing 737 aircraft in Max Air's fleet operation were temporarily halted last week.
The discovery Within the industry prevented a potentially significant incident, prompting the NCAA to issue an All Operator's Letter (AOL) informing operators of the dangers and potential risks and hazards linked with aircraft refuelling.
Source: Legit.ng
