NCAA to demolish houses, masts along flight path

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has threatened to pull down all unapproved structures erected on flight paths.

According to the NCAA, the structures, which include telecommunications masts, towers and high-rise buildings, have been built without obtaining the right aviation clearances.

The airport regulator, in a statement on Sunday, said it was embarking on the demolition to ensure the safety of all aircraft landing at the various airports in the country.

The statement signed by the General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, said, “Some of these structures have been found to be constituting major obstacles to the approach and descent of the airports for our air carriers.

“To prevent any untoward consequences, the regulatory authority has appointed Messrs Noon Mast Ventures Nigerian Limited to commence a nationwide identification of such erections and pull down all such illegal structures within the airport environment and along the flight paths.”

The firm, NCAA also said, had been mandated to embark on a countrywide surveillance and “demand for the NCAA certificate of clearance as a condition for verification from owners of existing structures; and where this is nonexistent, they will be pulled down instantly.”

It stressed that owners of structures identified as illegal would bear the cost of pulling them down.

According to the statement, the NCAA regulation states that those compelled by whatever reason to erect a mast or high-rise structure within the airport environment and along flight paths are required to contact the NCAA for the Aviation Height Clearance.

It stated that once the request was made, the department in charge would proceed for inspection and give approval for an allowable safety height or advised the owners to relocate the structure entirely where applicable.

The statement noted that the action was to strengthen NCAA’s regulatory resolve to ensure safety and security of air transport in Nigeria, adding that violations would be viewed seriously by the agency.

Source: Punch Newspaper