NATCA Seeks Approval As ATO, Targets NATCA Secretariat At Four Airports, NCAT
The Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers‘ Association (NATCA) says the association’s “ultimate strategic objective is to obtain certification as an Approved Training Organization in our own right, so that NATCA becomes a major contributor to manpower development in the aviation community. It is our desire to continue to add value to aviation personnel.”
In his opening address at NATCA’s 55th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos under the theme: “Beyond Silos to Synergy: Shaping the Future of Nigerian Air Traffic Management,” NATCA President, Comrade Edino Ilemona Amos said capacity building remains the heartbeat of NATCA strategic plan and that “more than 100 controllers are currently undergoing training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, and the Nigerian Air Force Air Traffic Services Training Centre. Some have graduated, completed their on-the-job training, and are now licensed and ready to be inducted into the ATC family. We congratulate them and commend the institutions that trained them.” He said the association has continued to engage Management on specialized training for ATC personnel and that “NATCA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with United ATS, Cairo, for the training of ATCOs. In 2025, about 60 controllers were trained in Fatigue Risk Management during our AGM in Abuja. That training contributed to Nigeria’s performance at the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission in April 2026, at which Nigeria recorded an Effective Implementation score of 91.45 per cent. This year, United ATS will train a further 60 controllers in Air Traffic Flow Management here in Lagos. NATCA is also finalizing Memoranda of Understanding with the Jordan Aviation College, Amman, and ATOM, Dubai.” Four virtual workshops have been held by NATCA for two consecutive years, one in each quarter.
“As part of NATCA’s Strategic Plan to alleviate the transit accommodation challenges faced by ATCOs and airport staff at airports across Nigeria, I am pleased to report that the Association has completed and commissioned the NATCA Secretariat and Guest House at Port Harcourt. The project had been under construction for about 29 years. It was completed in less than six months.
Adequate rest is essential to safe operations, as our fatigue risk management training has emphasized. Beyond accommodation, the facility can be adapted to serve as a base for medium-capacity training as we pursue NATCA’s ATO certification. The Association intends to develop similar facilities at the four major airports and at NCAT, Zaria,” said Edino.
He however called for improved welfare for NATCA members. “At the current exchange rate, an average ATCO can barely make ends meet. We appreciate the Management of NAMA for the review of the basic salary. However, inflation has since eroded the value of that review” he said, adding that NATCA has engaged management on the review of the ATC Aeromedical Allowance and the review of the Rating Allowance, which is long overdue.
“We appreciate Management for the correction of the Post-Licence Allowance, and we look forward to the immediate commencement of the English Language Proficiency Allowance. At our last AGM, the retention of ATCOs in service until the age of 65 was raised, and the Honourable Minister received the proposal with sympathy. The Association maintains that the retention of experienced ATCOs deserves serious consideration.
Where extension of service is not possible, we propose re-engagement ATCOs with improved remuneration, it is imperative so seek redress for correction of the errors made in the engagement contract ATCOs in the interest of equity and harmonious implementation of the NAMA staff condition of service /Public Service Rules and schemes of service as it may apply. The experience of these officers took many years to build and cannot easily be replaced.
We also respectfully call on the Honourable Minister to address the situation of senior ATCOs who have remained on one level for as long as 14 years without promotion. Nothing can be more frustrating than giving one’s best and bowing out with nothing” he said.
NATCA made a case for infrastrcuture improvements stating that “ the year under review has been a difficult one for the Association. Despite the considerable challenges faced by ATCOs across the length and breadth of the country, there has been no significant improvement in our communication and surveillance infrastructure. We acknowledge the approvals and procurement milestones that have been announced. However, these have yet to translate into a material improvement in the equipment available to controllers at the console.
NATCA has sought a high-level presentation of its position to the Honourable Minister, the National Counter Terrorism Centre, the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Management of NAMA. The Association has also submitted a memorandum to the National Assembly on aviation funding reform, in which we make the case that safety-critical infrastructure requires predictable and ring-fenced funding.
It is with a deep sense of responsibility that I state that this frustrating engagement is pushing the Association towards considering the withdrawal of our services, should there be no clear strategic plan for the total overhaul of communication and surveillance infrastructure in Nigeria.”
He said total overhaul of communication and surveillance infrastructure in Nigeria would improve the safety of our airspace, reduce economic waste and improve profitability for airline operators, attract more airlines to our airspace, with a corresponding increase in government revenue, strengthen the security of our airspace and our national security architecture and improve Nigeria’s global rating.
“Honourable Minister, we make this call not as a threat, but as patriots who sit daily before screens and failing frequencies to keep this country safe,” he said.
Edino said “NATCA’s visibility at the global level and within the Africa and Middle East Region continues to grow. At the just-concluded 37th IFATCA Africa and Middle East Regional Meeting in Amman, Jordan, Mallam Ahmad Abba was re-elected Executive Vice President, IFATCA Africa and Middle East Region, and Mr. Shettima Babazau was elected Regional Vice President, West African Region. We congratulate them both. NATCA members also serve on various IFATCA committees at global and regional levels.
In April this year, NATCA hosted the IFATCA/ITF Workshop in Lagos. The five-day workshop brought together participants from across Africa and was successfully concluded. Young ATCOs are being encouraged to write Working Papers and are being entrusted with responsibilities, as a deliberate investment in the future leadership of the Association.”
He noted that NATCA has received a copy of the petition submitted by the NATCA NCAT Chapter to the electoral committee of the ATS/Communications School, NCAT. “ NATCA is in full support of the step taken by the Chapter. The Association will not accept the disruption of established structures without adequate documentation of the approved process for the appointment of the Head of the Area/Airways Department. NATCA will take every necessary step to ensure that the ATC profession is not brought into disrepute by any unfair process.”
He further said the theme of the meeting “was chosen deliberately. Air traffic management is a system of systems. Communication, navigation and surveillance, meteorology, airport operations, airline operations and regulation must work together if our airspace is to be safe and efficient. When these parts operate in isolation, the consequences are felt most acutely by the controller at the console: when a frequency fails, when harmattan conditions disrupt operations at Kano and Abuja, or when surveillance is lost along the Lagos–Abuja corridor.”
“The theme of this meeting is a call to every part of our system: NATCA and NAMA Management, controllers and engineers, the Ministry, the regulator, our sister agencies and the National Assembly. The future of Nigerian air traffic management depends on our working together. We have come a long way, but we still have far to go. Let us continue to build, to engage, and to stand united,” concluded Edino.
