Keyamo summons heads of aviation agencies over safety concerns

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, has summoned heads of regulatory agencies over safety concerns in the aviation industry.

Keyamo, in a post via his X, formerly Twitter, account, on Monday, said a comprehensive review of recent incidents will be done in the meeting with the heads of regulatory agencies.

“Due to safety concerns in the aviation sector expressed by members of the public, I have summoned the heads of the regulatory agencies to my office later today to review the incidents that are the cause of these concerns and to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to forestall future occurrence and to apply sanctions, where necessary, regarding the past incidents,” he said.

Also, the ministry, in a statement, said identifying the root causes of these concerns is the primary objective of the meeting, as well as implementing proactive measures to prevent future occurrences.

According to the ministry, necessary sanctions will also be administered for “past issues”.

“The Minister is committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety within the aviation industry,” the ministry said.

“The HMA emphasizes the paramount importance of public safety and assures the public that all necessary steps will be taken to address these concerns promptly.”

The ministry said the outcome of the meeting will be communicated transparently.

On Sunday, a flight by United Nigeria had landed in Asaba, Delta state, instead of its destination, Abuja.

United Nigeria said the flight was diverted to Asaba due to poor destination weather. However, one of the passengers who took to his X account, said the pilot announced that they were in Abuja but later found out that he was given the wrong flight plan.

Also, last week, Dana Air said its flight bound for Abuja from Lagos had some operational challenges, resulting in a non-scheduled maintenance of the company’s aircraft.

Dana Air disclosed this in response to a post that claimed the company’s aircraft engine exploded shortly before take-off.

On November 4, a private jet from Abuja with a federal minister onboard, crash-landed in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.