The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has commenced the training of 40 aeronautical meteorological observers and forecasters to boost aviation safety and enhance effective service delivery in the sector.
The Director-general and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu, while declaring the week-long capacity training open in Katsina state, said the participants were selected across the 36 states of the federation.
He said the training would help the forecasters and observers to design routes for aircraft to avoid hazardous phenomena like lightning, icing, turbulence, thunderstorm and other flight hazards that could affect a flight’s ability to depart or arrive at its destination on time.
He reminded the participants of the importance of forecasting the conditions that are determined by meteorological parameters such as wind, precipitation, turbulence, temperature and visibility.
Matazu, represented by the agency’s Director of Weather Forecasting Services, Engr. Mailadi Yusuf, said a good and accurate report by a competent meteorological observer would contribute significantly to enhancing flight safety in the country.
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He said the agency was committed to ensuring that the observers and forecasters are trained and re-trained to meet the safety standards and guidelines specified by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
According to him, weather forecasting is a key factor in decision-making in the aviation industry, especially during take-off, in-flight and landing, because it prevents flights from dangerous accidents.
He said: “This, in essence, is the main objective of this week-long training that the agency has organised in fulfilment of the requirements of both the NCAA and ICAO that meteorological observers and forecasters are subjected to pieces of training in order to keep them up to speed with developments in the aviation sector.
“We are conducting the 10th batch of these pieces of training instead of the 11th and 12th batches due to the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown which adversely affected the aviation sector.”
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