Flight cancellations loom over poor landing system
As the harmattan season approaches with its characteristic dust haze and poor visibility, Nigeria’s inadequate Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) across the country are expected to cause widespread flight delays and cancellations, stakeholders have warned.
Of all Nigeria’s over 26 airports, only a handful have functional ILS, meaning that aircraft cannot fly in and take off from them during poor weather.
Also, many of the airports operated by the state governments do not have runway lights and other necessary instruments that can enable flights to operate during low visibility, both in the day and at night.
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An Instrument Landing System (ILS) is a highly accurate radio signal navigation aid consisting of two antennas which transmit signals to receivers in the aircraft cockpit—a glide path tower located next to the runway at the northern end and a localiser antenna at the southern end – creating a machine vision that allows aircraft to land and take off without the pilot’s visual support.
Starting from late November to the end of January 2026, which are the peak periods for flight operations in Nigeria, airlines may lose huge revenues over flight cancellations, while passengers may be left stranded across different states in the country.
Recently, Chris Najomo, director general of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), disclosed that no Nigerian airport is currently certified for Category III (CAT III) operations—an advanced system that allows fully automated landings in poor visibility. As a result, all landings within the country’s airspace are manually executed by pilots.
Industry experts have expressed concern over this, noting that CAT III ILS technology has been in global use for decades.
BusinessDay findings show that as far back as December 28, 1968, the first CAT III landing occurred at Heathrow Airport, yet Nigerian airports still struggle to land aircraft when visibility falls below 800 metres. In past harmattan seasons, flights were often diverted to neighbouring Cotonou.
John Ojikutu, industry expert and CEO of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consult, told BusinessDay that there is no CAT III in Nigerian airports as the runway edge and approach lighting system under FAAN have not been properly configured.
Ojikutu noted that there is a need to guarantee uninterrupted power supply to the system in accordance with the relevant rules.
“This is imperative in order to ensure optimum safety, reliability, and integrity of the system. The tolerance level of the Flight Management System is almost non-existent, where the ILS is in the control of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and power supplies into the airports are the responsibility of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN),” he said.
Ado Sanusi, managing director of Aero Contractors, argued that beyond having a CAT III ILS, there is a need for pilots to be trained on the technologies adopted for airspace management in the country.
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“If I am going to advise, the airport authority has to do a cost-benefit analysis of how much it will cost to install these pieces of equipment and how many flights in a year will utilise that category 111 ILS. The problem is that it is extremely expensive to maintain it because of the steady power supply it demands,” Sanusi said.
The Aero MD however noted that there would be disruption of flight operations during the harmattan due to low visibility.
Anne Ojewunmi, an aircraft technician, told BusinessDay that without the CAT III ILS, pilots would find it difficult to land safely during bad weather.
“The ripple effects would include flight safety being highly compromised, flight delays and diversions, and financial implications from diversions. Delays and cancellations in some cases would increase operating cost for airlines.”
