Caroline Nyigbem Igbo-Uchi, PhD
Department of Geography
College of Education, Katsina-Ala, Benue State, Nigeria.
Email: [email protected]
Clara Torkwase Iyortyer
Department of Geography
College of Education, Katsina-Ala, Benue State, Nigeria.
Email: iyortyerclara@ gmail.com
Abstract
The contributions of air transportation to the Nigerian socio-economic and political growth have been so significant that attention needs to be drawn to its development in terms of safety and its sustainability. In order for safety to be ensured, the impact of meteorological hazards on flight operations should be checked and adequately addressed. Data was obtained from the various federal aviation offices. Descriptive statistics of total, means, and percentages were employed to analyze the data. The paper therefore, educates and enlightens the aviation stakeholders and the general public on the implications of meteorological hazards such as thick dust haze, wind shear, thunderstorm/lightning, among others, on the performance of aircraft, as well as aircraft disasters recorded that were connected to these meteorological hazards. The paper concludes that to avert this ugly trend for the aviation industry, meteorological hazards that hampered efficient and effective flight operations must be adequately addressed in order to strive for and achieve meaningful and sustainable development in Nigeria.
KEY WORDS: AIR TRANSPORTATION, METEOROLOGICAL HAZARDS, SAFETY, NIGERIA.