5th June, 2012
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called on the Federal Government to strengthen the capacities of aviation agencies to make the nation’s airspace safer.
This call is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday and jointly signed by the President of TUC, Mr. Peter Esele, and Secretary-General, Mr. John Kolawole.
“We call on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Airspace Management Authority to strengthen their capacities to make our airspace safer.
“We do not know the circumstances that must have led to the crash of the Dana aircraft, but we do know that the flight was less than few minutes to its destination, the Murtala Mohammed International Airport 2.
“The government must investigate the immediate and remote causes of this disaster.”
The statement acknowledged that the nation’s airspace had been relatively free of disasters, and urged aviation regulators to build newer capabilities in the management of the airspace.
It said that fleets must be constantly maintained and upgraded to avoid future disasters and called for conscious manpower training, acquisition of modern equipment and enhancement of logistics.
The statement commended the Federal Government on its effort to upgrade most of the nation’s airports.
It said that there was need to review the Aviation Rescue Fund in order to make the funds readily available to operators in the sector to enhance their operational effectiveness and efficiencies.
The union commiserated with the families of those who lost their lives in the crash and those who died in the Bauchi bomb blasts and prayed God to give them the fortitude to bear the losses.
“This is indeed a multiplication of sorrow for Nigerians at the backdrop of the unrelenting Boko Haram menace in some parts of the north.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dana aircraft, carrying 153 passengers and six crew members, crashed in Iju, on the outskirt of Lagos, on Sunday. The aircraft left Abuja en-route Lagos and crashed about 50 minutes later, killing everybody on board.