The Senate has resolved to investigate frequent and prolonged airspace closures during movements of Very Important Personalities (VIPs), citing flight delays, poor coordination and potential risks to aviation safety nationwide.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Sen. Isah Jibrin (APC-Kogi) during Tuesday’s plenary, highlighting concerns about procedures governing airspace restrictions and their implications for airlines, passengers and aviation operations.
The motion raised concerns over aircraft being kept airborne in holding patterns at Nigerian airports because of VIP movements and other security-related activities, with attendant aviation safety risks.
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In its resolutions, the Senate mandated its Committee on Aviation to engage the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee is expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the restrictions, assess compliance with established operational procedures and submit its findings to the senate within two weeks.
The upper chamber also urged aviation authorities to consider diverting affected flights to alternative airports instead of keeping aircraft airborne for prolonged periods while awaiting clearance from relevant authorities.
Moving the motion, Jibrin said passenger and crew safety was essential to the reliability and economic viability of air transport, which depended on effective coordination among aviation stakeholders.
He said commercial air transport relied on coordinated schedules covering aircraft departure and arrival slots, fuel planning, crew duty-time limits, passenger connections, airport operations and air traffic management.
Jibrin said these operations required a high degree of coordination among aviation authorities, warning that disruptions could affect several aspects of commercial flight operations and passenger safety.
He said commercial aircraft scheduled to land at some domestic airports were sometimes kept in holding patterns for extended periods when landing operations were suspended for VIP or other security-related movements.
Such delays, the lawmaker said, had lasted more than an hour on some occasions, raising concerns about fuel management, operational efficiency and the safety of passengers and crew.
Contributing to the debate, Sen. Diket Plang (APC-Plateau) said poor coordination of flight schedules could result in commercial aircraft departing for destinations where restrictions had already been imposed for VIP movements.
Plang, a former station manager with Kabo Air in Kano, urged aviation authorities to coordinate flight schedules, take-off times and landing arrangements properly to prevent avoidable operational conflicts.
He described the departure of commercial aircraft for destinations already affected by VIP-related restrictions as poor time management, warning that inadequate airspace management could result in a major aviation disaster.
The lawmaker also questioned compliance with aviation safety regulations, particularly requirements for aircraft to carry sufficient fuel to manage emergencies, including returning safely to their departure airports.
He urged the NCAA and FAAN to take decisive steps to address operational lapses, warning that aircraft could face serious risks when compelled to remain airborne for extended periods.
Also supporting the motion, Sen. Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) described prolonged flight delays as an emergency requiring urgent intervention by the National Assembly through stronger regulatory oversight.
Ningi attributed the problem to weak supervision and failure by aviation agencies to enforce operational standards, saying passengers routinely experienced unexplained delays at airports across the country.
He recalled that a recent journey from Kano, which should have taken about 40 minutes, lasted two-and-a-half hours because of airspace-related restrictions.
The senator said passengers were often left without explanations or effective channels for complaints when flights were delayed for hours, adding that the National Assembly must strengthen oversight.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio also expressed concern, recalling an experience in which passengers were kept inside a bus for about three hours while waiting to board an aircraft.
Akpabio said airspace restrictions were sometimes imposed long before VIPs arrived or departed, leaving commercial aircraft circling in the air and passengers stranded at airports.
He said restrictions could begin hours before a presidential movement, even when the president had not arrived at the airport, thereby extending delays for other flights.
According to him, inadequate communication between airport authorities and officials coordinating presidential movements often results in aircraft remaining in holding patterns for prolonged periods while awaiting clearance.
The senate president warned that such situations could expose passengers and aircraft to additional risks, particularly when weather conditions changed while aircraft waited for permission to land.
He called for improved coordination, saying airspace restrictions should be imposed closer to the actual movement of VIPs to minimise disruptions to commercial aviation and passengers’ risk.
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