Keeping airports safe saves lives

TAKING precautions now is better than dealing with a catastrophic situation later.
That’s exactly what the National Airport Corporation (NAC) has done.
This week, NAC announced the closure of Buka Airport over safety concerns, meaning there will be no flights in and out from there.
NAC is responsible for a safe, secure, environmentally friendly and efficient civil aviation airport services.
The reason for the closure is the safety and security risk imposed on aircraft operating into and out of Buka where there is no fencing.
Interfering with and damaging PAPI lights, people and animal crossing the runway, vehicles driving on the runway, runway strips being used as playground by the nearby village and Buka town residents have been a norm.
Many incidents have been reported by aircraft on landing and taking off, of people, animals and vehicles crossing the runway during aircraft operation.
The concerns highlighted remind us of how vulnerable we are when procedures or people fail.
In a small number of these cases, a catastrophic collision is narrowly avoided — sometimes only through sheer luck.
If we may add, the above is not only confined to Bougainville but other airports in the country too.
Hazards on any airport runway in the world, including PNG, must be addressed promptly, otherwise, they can be tragic.
NAC has the responsibility to ensure all runways are in
smooth operation at any given time.
NAC owns and operates 22 national airports in Port Moresby, Nadzab, Mt Hagen, Tokua, Madang, Wewak, Gurney, Hoskins, Goroka, Kavieng, Buka, Momote, Vanimo, Tari, Mendi, Kundiawa, Wapenamanda, Kerema, Kiunga, Daru, Girua and Aropa.
Just this year, it closed Kagamuga airport in Western Highlands over safety and security issues until it was sorted out and the airport reopened.
NAC took that stand because the airport gate keys were taken from NAC officers by members of a landowning group who were not happy with the hiring of security guards. Earlier in the year, NAC closed Mendi airport when rioters invaded the apron area and burnt a Link PNG DHC-8 aircraft owned by Air Niugini.
Given the complexity of PNG’s topography and terrain, that present major constraints to road construction, air transport for many parts of PNG is (and will continue to be) the only possible means that link them to the main centres of the country.
The risk of a runway, taxiway or apron incursion event that can
kill hundreds of people in a single accident is real and growing larger.
It boils down to layers of safety.
There are fewer aspects of air travel more mundane than runways.
Despite the air industry’s abiding reputation as the safest form of travel, the fact remains that passengers on commercial flights are entirely entrusting their safety to the experience of pilots, air traffic controllers and ground handling staff, as well as the safety and reliability of a range of technologies.
This trust is not limited to the time that an aircraft spends in the sky.
The taxiways and runways of an airport’s aerodrome are a much more common setting for safety problems, and incidents of this type still occur with reasonable regularity.
The action by NAC with Buka airport is a warning to other provincial authorities in the country to adhere to the rules and regulations of the aviation industry, otherwise, the same can happen to your airports.
The aviation industry plays a vital role in the changing economic, political and social development and life of the country as alternative forms of transport are often not available.