NIGERIAN Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has charged government to commence employment of at least 50 Air Traffic Controllers annually to ensure that there are adequate controllers manning the air spaces across the country.

This is just as the body explained that it needs an additional 700 controllers to boost its existing 400 members manning various control towers across airports in the country.

NATCA who disclosed this through its National president, Comrade Victor Eyaru as a precursor to this year’s hosting of the 59th International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) Africa & Middle East Region meeting /Workshop in Abuja from 5th March to 9th November 2018.

He called on the government to begin the employment of at least between 50 and 100 Air traffic controllers annually to ensure that there was no vacuum created as a result of aging workforce in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency.

Comrade Eyaru said the additional 700 Air traffic controllers will ease their work.

NATCA President while commending the NAMA engineers for keeping the radars working, urged the government to source for spare parts for the Radars in the country to ensure that controllers did not go back to procedural Air traffic control in the country adding that additional radar /ADSB to work with the procedural control.

Comrade Eyaru disclosed that about 300 delegates are expected to join about 50 other members in the country to attend the conference of Africa/Middle East members in Abuja to chart the forward for a seamless friendly sky.

Eyaru explained that the conference will save various aviation parastatals a lot of foreign exchange as over 50 air traffic controllers will have the opportunity to be trained during the conference.

The last conference was held in Addis Ababa last year and this is the second time Nigeria is hosting after the first in 2001.