In a bid to ensure the safety and efficiency of flight operations, airlines may have their flying schedules delayed or canceled as the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has warned of severe dust haze/fog that might affect flight operations.
According to the advisory circular by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), it alerted airlines and pilots of severe dust haze between the period of November 2021 to March 2022, which could reduce horizontal visibility to less than 200 meters in some instances.
The circular which was signed by the Director-General, NCAA, Musa Nuhu, further stated that these climate conditions can have effects such as blotting out runways, markers, and airfield lighting over wide areas causing extremely difficult visual navigation .
These invariably will cause some flights to be delayed, diverted, or canceled.
In the circular, Nuhu further directed that flight crews, operators, and Air Traffic Controllers must strictly adhere to published aerodrome weather minima, noting that traffic controllers are to shut the airspace when any of the conditions are observed or predicted by NiMet.
