Keyamo asks African nations to strengthen air traffic management capacity

Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, has asked African countries to strengthen their air traffic management (ATM) capacity through strategic recruitment, training, and retention of skilled personnel to ensure safer skies across the continent.

Keyamo spoke in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 36th International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) Africa and Middle East regional meeting in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The event was themed ‘Securing the Skies: Strengthening ATM Capacity through Strategic Recruitment, Training, and Retention’, according to a statement by Tunde Moshood, special adviser on media and communications to the minister.

Keyamo said the demand for well-trained and well-motivated air traffic controllers has reached an unprecedented level as air traffic expands across Africa.

“Across our region, we face rising complexity in operations and higher expectations from the travelling public. To meet these challenges, we must invest not only in technology, but — even more importantly — in people,” Keyamo said.

“It is the professionalism, alertness, and dedication of air traffic controllers that keeps millions of passengers safe every single day.”

Keyamo reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to improving aviation safety and human capital development under President Bola Tinubu’s ‘renewed hope’ agenda.

The minister said through the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the federal government is modernising its communication, navigation, and surveillance and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems.

He said the government is also expanding training pipelines for controllers, and institutionalising programmes that support mental wellbeing and peer mentorship.

Keyamo also noted that Nigeria is deepening collaboration with the Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO) and other regional institutions to fast-track air navigation service provider (ANSP) certification, strengthen safety oversight, and instill a robust safety culture in aviation operations.

“We must remember that aviation is a shared ecosystem. Its strength lies in collaboration — among States, regulators, ANSPs, and professional bodies like IFATCA,” the minister was quoted as saying.

“Our skies know no borders; therefore, our success must also be borderless — built on shared knowledge, shared responsibility, and shared resolve.”

The minister urged stakeholders to build a resilient, highly skilled, and motivated workforce capable of managing the complex skies of tomorrow.

According to the statement, the event was attended by several dignitaries, including Felix Mhona, Zimbabwe’s minister of transport and infrastructural development; Joseph Bukari Nikpe, Ghana’s minister of transport; and Edward Katumba Wamala, Uganda’s minister of works and transport (represented by Olive Birungi Lumonya, deputy director-general of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority).

Other attendees were Helena Falk, president of IFATCA; and Ahmad Abba, executive vice-president of IFATCA Africa and Middle East.