Stakeholders: NAMA Can Earn $1.5bn Revenue Annually with Improved Infrastructure

Chinedu Eze

Aviation industry stakeholders are of the view that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) can scale up its revenue from overfliers to $1.5 billion annually if it improves its airspace infrastructure to boost radar and communications coverage of the nation’s skies.

In aviation, overfliers (also called overflights) are aircraft that fly through a country’s sovereign airspace without taking off from or landing within that country.

Currently, NAMA earns about 50 per cent of the projected $1.5 billion annual revenue due to inadequate coverage of the airspace occasioned by ageing equipment, even though overflight charges form the bulk of NAMA’s self-generated revenue.

Insider source revealed that NAMA’s actual total revenue and remittances, such as clearing house figures handled via the International Air Transport Association (IATA), have historically fallen vastly short of such high figures, often collecting only a fraction of what is needed to cover multi-billion naira operational and personnel overheads (which crossed over N43 billion annually). 

NAMA collects between $75 and $195 per flight for regional and international overfliers and overflight, en-route, and terminal navigation fees collectively make up roughly 75 per cent of NAMA’s total income, while the statutory Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) accounts for the remaining 25 per cent.

Speaking at the 55th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA) in Lagos, the stakeholders said there was urgent need to upgrade ageing communication equipment, complete on-going projects and also train key personnel to man the equipment.

They said that despite promises from NAMA management, little or none was seen being done.

President of NATCA, Edino Ilemona Amos, expressed frustration that despite numerous procurement announcements and regulatory approvals by the government, controllers on the frontlines continued to operate with inadequate equipment.
“Despite the considerable challenges faced by members across the length and breadth of the country, there has been no significant improvement in our communication and surveillance infrastructure. We acknowledge the approvals and procurement milestones that have been announced. However, these are yet to translate into a material improvement in the equipment available to controllers at the console,” Amos said.
He President revealed that persistent equipment failures have pushed the association to its breaking point.

He said, “It is with a deep sense of responsibility that I state that this frustrating engagement is pushing the association towards considering the withdrawal of our services, should there be no clear strategic plan for the total overhaul of communication and surveillance infrastructure in Nigeria,” Amos warned, clarifying that the call is made not as a threat, but as “patriots who sit daily before screens and failing frequencies to keep this country safe.”

“For NAMA to improve communication in the airspace, it needs the installation and factory testing of new Very High Omnidirectional Radios Range (VHF) voice communication and control systems across 14 operational sites to streamline air-to-ground communication. It also needs extended Very High Frequency (E-VHF) Radio System. So, there is need for a nation rollout of E-VHF systems (previously deployed in northern stations like Abuja and Kano) to eliminate airspace communication blind spots,” the stakeholders said.

They added, “NAMA needs Voice Communication and Control Systems (VCCS), which is upgrading regional voice switching and localised emergency power integrations to maintain continuous communication windows. To enhance communication and radar coverage across Nigeria’s airspace, NAMA and the federal government however said they were upgrading and procuring specific critical systems, which includes the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) alternative.

“This needs comprehensive overhaul and modernisation of the nine-station primary and secondary surveillance radar network to replace aging components, clear out-of-date software, and resolve the lack of spare parts. NAMA is also working on Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment and the deployment of ADS-Btechnology as a vital modern surveillance backup to significantly improve tracking accuracy, reliability, and signal processing across regional radar gaps.”

However, it was learnt that the agency has indicated strong plan to replace TRACON.

“It has made firm move to acquire Indra radar Sistemas Radar Systems from Spain. While some staff members of NAMA argued that TRACON could be upgraded with modern software equipment, the management disagreed, “an official of the agency told THISDAY THISDAY adding that TRACON has been there since 2010 and that it has become outmoded.

“You may continue to upgrade these systems but there will come a time when you will have to change everything completely. This is because we have to move on with other jurisdictions. Aviation is global; we cannot afford to be left behind,” the official said.

NAMA has in the past 10 years, embarked on the automation of Aeronautical Information Service (AIS), which provides information necessary for the safety, regularity and efficiency of international air navigation.

The Air Traffic Controllers said the services provided by AIS were invaluable and include flight information service like the traffic information, meteorological information, information on runway state (condition) and other information useful for the safe and efficient conduct of flight.

“It is also the channel for dissemination of information on weather and weather report, among others. Some years ago, hopes were raised that the project would be completed but it has not till date. In 2023, NAMA claimed it had put to an end the perennial problem of communication in Nigeria’s airspace as it had put things in place to complete the project,” they added.

Reacting to the demand of Air Traffic Controllers, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said: “The Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria system has outlived its design life, and Mr. President has approved its overhaul. While that work continues, NAMA has begun deploying ADS-B as a surveillance backup. New VHF radios and voice communication and control systems for fourteen sites have passed factory acceptance testing in Norway. In Abuja, work has begun on a new NAMA headquarters and Air Traffic Management Centre, which will bring the Lagos and Kano Area Control Centres under one roof.”

Industry stakeholders however said that if critical equipment were provided, the Nigerian airspace would have effective communication, navigation and surveillance system that would enable NAMA to boost its revenue, especially from overflights.