The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has issued a warning to all pilots and airline operators about the hazardous weather posed by the harmattan period.
The warning was contained in a circular signed by the NCAA’s Director General, Captain Muhtar Usman, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Lagos.
The circular said: “The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has forecasted the occurrence of moderate to severe outbreaks of dust in the country during this harmattan period from November 2015 to March 2016.
“Severe outbreaks of dusts can reduce atmospheric visibility significantly and thus impact negatively on flight operations.”
It said based on the situation, pilots and airline operators should ensure that they obtain adequate departure, en-route and destination weather information from NIMET prior to their flight operations.
According to the circular, they are to exercise maximum restraint when adverse weather is observed or forecasted by NIMET.
The circular also urged them to ensure that flight operations were scheduled with adequate weather information from NIMET to minimise delay or cancellation of flight operations.
“All concerned are required to always strictly comply with laid down regulations,” it said.
NAN.