The inaugural Quality Management System (QMS) Stakeholders meeting organized by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) for key stakeholders operating at the Akanu-Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, has held in the state capital.
The meeting which held on Thursday, 26th of September 2024, at the Nigerian Safety and Investigation Bureau Conference Hall, had participants drawn from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Federal Airports Authority (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Safety and Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airforce (NAF), Ibom Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Green Africa and Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO).
According to Usman Abdulrahman, the Head of Quality Management System (QMS) at NiMet, “the objective of the stakeholders meeting was to discuss issues of common interest that will enhance the safety and security of air transportation and navigation services for which NiMet is fully committed to and as one of the requirements of ISO 9001: 2015”.
Continuing, Abdulrahman said that “the QMS stakeholders meeting is one of the key requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 standard for AeroMet products and services at the five (5) registered scope stations in NiMet (MMIA Ikeja, NAIA Abuja, AIIA Enugu, OAIA Port Harcourt and MAKIA Kano)”.
He listed the 6 key areas that form the basis for this year's discussion as risk-based decision-making, relationship management and collaboration, customer focus, feedback from stakeholders, timely products and service delivery, and finally continuous improvements.
Abdulrahman’s presentation on aviation hazards set the tone for deliberations at the meeting. Stakeholders present at the meeting made the following recommendations to the relevant agencies aimed at improving aviation safety at the airport; (1) Urgent need for Buffer zones around NiMet equipment sites to avoid fire incidents during dry season (2) Need to provide additional communication backup (radios) to Engineers to ensure uninterrupted communication between the ATC and the Engineering team (3) Need for a complimentary equipment to serve as back up for the LLWAS at Enugu. (4) Request by airline operators for OPMET information to be sent directly to their emails (5) Need for accessible phone numbers to reach NiMet for retrieving OPMET information.
At the end of the very interactive stakeholders meeting, the Head of Quality Management System (QMS) at NiMet, Usman Abdulrahman encouraged the participating stakeholders to always make use of NiMet Enugu’s phone numbers for any inquiries, feedback or requests for NiMet products and services.
Similar QMS stakeholders meetings will also hold in Port-Harcourt, Lagos, Kano and Abuja in the coming weeks.
