Lagos — Travelling in Nigeria by air is now safe as government's investment in making the sky safe has started yielding fruits, Minister of Aviation, Mr. Babatunde Omotoba, has said.

Travelling in Nigeria by air is now safe as government's investment in making the sky safe has started yielding fruits, Minister of Aviation, Mr. Babatunde Omotoba, has said.

Speaking in Lagos yesterday, Omotoba said the Federal Ministry of Aviation had in the last one year, put in best practice standards to ensure that all threats to the safety of passengers were removed.

He said the ambitious programme of the government on air travel which the ministry is vigorously implementing had given air transport in Nigeria a new face.

Already, the country's airspace, he said, had been enlarged by the procurement of 27 VSATs which are in the process of being installed. When installed, the minister said, the VSATs would communicate satellites to connect the entire Nigerian airspace, all airports and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) headquarters to the world.

According to him, "The system is multi-frequency, multi-dimensional mean access system that would signal to us when any airplane has filed a flight plan anywhere in the world. It will also send automatic signals of distress to NEMA for any airplane not only in our airspace, thus enlarging our air space and enhancing national security."

He said bad weather, which had been a big problem to flights and major causes of air crashes, had also been tackled, by the proposed installation of a thunderstorm detector at the National Weather Forecasting Centre in Abuja.

"Here, analyses of all weather readings and systems would be conducted to enhance safety. Talks have reached an advanced stage for this project which has received a waiver and approval for take-off.

"We have made giant strides in this area with the installation of wind shear alert systems, thunderstorm detectors, Doppler weather radar, and automatic update systems among others. We have also commenced the construction of the National Weather Centre in Abuja where all weather readings and systems would be analysed to enhance safety," the minister said.

He said in the next six months, 19 brand new fire tenders are being expected and more would be procured in due course, adding that every airport in the country would have one by the end of 2010.

With the full backing of President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua, the Ministry had restored confidence to air travel within and outside the country, he said.

He said: "A safe airspace, security and general satisfaction of aviation consumers is among the top priorities of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", adding that, "Mr. President's call to bring aviation mishap to the barest minimum underlines his interest and concern about safety, security and concern for passengers and all airport users."

The ministry, Omotoba said, had also taken commendable steps to ensure world class safety standards on every route in and outside Nigeria.