EFFECTS OF VISIBILITY ON MILITARY FLIGHT OPERATIONS IN MALLAM AMINU KANO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Visibility is one of the weather elements that has a direct effect on flight operations, particularly during take-off and landing. Secondary data were obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the 403 Flying Training School (403 FTS), Nigerian Air Force, for the period 2011 to 2020. The data collected covered annual visibility (number of days with visibility below 2,000 metres), dust haze occurrence, rainfall, flight delays, flight cancellations and flight diversions. Trend analysis, Pearson correlation, simple and multiple regression and an independent samples t-test were used to analyse the data with the aid of SPSS version 23. The results showed that visibility-affected days averaged 7.30 days per year and did not record a significant trend (R² = .083, p = .420) while rainfall declined significantly over the period (R² = .529, p = .017) and flight delay increased significantly (R² = .655, p = .005). The correlation between visibility and flight cancellation was not significant (r = .002, p = .995), and the null hypothesis was therefore not rejected. Dust haze, however, correlated significantly with flight delay (r = .688, p = .028). Findings also showed that the dry season (November to March) recorded significantly more delays, cancellations and diversions than the wet season (p < .01 in all cases). The study concludes that poor visibility on its own is not the major cause of flight disruption at MAKIA but that dust haze and seasonal factors play a more significant role. The study recommends a dedicated Harmattan flying schedule for 403 FTS, dust haze specific operational thresholds and an upgrade of visibility monitoring equipment at the airport.