International aircraft haulted mid air, and rejected landing in Port Harcourt International Airport, due to lack of fire hazard infrastructure.
The incident halted a wide-body aircraft after the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) to airlines revealing that the airport’s fire category had been reduced from Level 7 to Level 6.
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On Sunday, operations at Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State, south-south Nigeria, were halted due to insufficient fire risk preparation.
The incident halted wide-body aircraft after the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) to airlines revealing that the airport’s fire category had been reduced from Level 7 to Level 6.
The large aircraft could not land or operate at the airport due to the lack of fire hazard control at the airport.
SurgeZirc NG learned that Lufthansa aircraft might fly to Port Harcourt at the moment due to inadequate fire cover.
However, Mr. Kabir Yusuf Mohammed, Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), stated that the fire category was dropped because “one fire truck was down.”
“Port Harcourt’s fire category was downgraded because its fire engines did not meet international standards.” The airport had no operational fire service or fire safety,” a source revealed.
However, when SurgeZirc NG contacted the FAAN’s MD, Mr. Kabir Yusuf Mohammed, he stated that the fire category had been reduced since one of the airport’s vehicles had broken down.
The grading of airports is mostly done based on the number of fire trucks they have available, that is their fire cover, and if for any reason they don’t have any, or they have a deflated tyre with the fire truck and it cannot be used at that moment, you must notify the airmen.
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As of the date they say it was downgraded, it was due to one of their fire trucks breaking down. But Shell had already handed them one fire truck pending when we would fix the one we have, so they now have three active fire trucks, with another one being brought from Owerri to supplement what they currently have in case Shell decides to withdraw their own fire truck.
When asked how long it would take to restore the airport fire category to its prior status, Muhammad mentioned that they have already initiated that.
