HARGEISA AIRPORT & ITS RUNWAY WHO TO BLAME THE MISTAKES AND THE
FIASCO?
Let me share my thoughts concerning about Hargeisa airport &
Ethiopian Airlines. According to IATA, ICAO & the International Air
Law, Safety & security of the airplane & its passengers are the
responsibility of the airplane operator which is Ethiopian Airlines.
According to that same law the responsibility safety & security of
that airport falls on the sho ulder of the airport operator, which is
the government of Somaliland.The issue in here is that, the runway of Hargeisa airport is little
short for a jet aircraft loaded with full passenger & lot of fuel in
order to reach its destination also there is no fence or barrier to
ward off intruders or people intend to do harm to Somaliland & this
part our government has failed badly & was shortcoming.
It’s standard in the world when construction is to be done in
airport, it should be awarded to a contractor by bidding and that
contract must be accredited & very well experienced in constr uction
of airport & Runways also that company must pass a back ground check
& must show prove on previous work that it has completed. Our
government did not do that & was saying the contractor is
international Chinese company & that is far from the truth and it is
dishonest.
As per the international civil Aviation organization & the aircraft
manufacturers who agreed to use set of data that to be based the
performance & the capabilities of airplane & its called
International Standard Atmosphere Pressure. (29.92 inches of mercury
& 15° C at sea level). However, only and rarely will the airplane
actually operate under conditions that approximate standard
atmosphere. Any increase in temperature or altitude means a decrease
in the aircra ft's optimum performance. As we know Hargeisa airport
is 4420Feet above sea level. The high elevation above sea-level
causes the Air density to decreases with the increase of the
temper ature. Furthermore, Warm air is less dense than cold air
because there are fewer air molecules in a given volume of warm air
than in the same volume of cooler air. As a result, on a hot day, an
airplane will require more Runway to take off, will have a poor rate
of climb and a faster approach for landing and will experience a
longer landing roll, the combination of high temperat ure, high
elevation, weight of the aircraft, & the condition of the runway
produces a situation that aerodynamically reduces drastically the
performance of the airplane & this part the government the Civil
Aviation Authority has failed to consider into account when they
were planning the renovation of the Hargeisa airport & the runway
The Somaliland government & the Ministry Civil Aviation Authority,
should have known that an y aircraft with two engine or more,
requires to accelerate to a specific speed for takeoff, and then in
case of an engine failure, be able to stop safely on that runway, if
that length to stop is not available, then this can be disastrous
for airplane that does not have adequate Runway, also It’s
inconceivable from the Civil Aviation Authority to tell the Airlines
to carry Less fuel , less cargo & to operate to Hargeisa such
request is dangerous, costly & not profitable to the airlines, These
& the lacking of strong security system such as concrete barrier
with a strong fence line along the airfield are some of the risk
factors that Airline operators (companies) and pilots have to assess
in order to make informed decision.
Don’t blame Ethiopian Airlines for not flying into Hargeisa airport,
the Ethiopian airlines is com mercial & private company (not
government own) & they have every right to choose which country or
airport they see fit for their operations, the only option open for
Somaliland govern ment & Civil Aviation Authority is to negotiate and
not force any other company if they decide not to operate to Hargeisa airport. While this current government is trying hard to do
good things, first it must eliminate the corrupt individual & the
corruption that tarnished its image. The Somaliland government & the
Civil Aviation Authority must take the responsibility of all the
mistakes & the Fiasco at Hargeisa Airport, & they should implement
immediate correction
Improving the situation at Hargeisa Airport
The current available runway of 2.446 km & its pot-holed has been
patched Hargeisa airport needs to be competitive with the rest of
the neighboring airports it must have longer Runway, with the runway
marking, lighting & the standard ICAO runway sign. For safety &
security it must have concrete Barrier, Trenches & fence in all the
parameter of the field. The length of the runway must be extended
from 2.4 KM to 3.1 or 3.2 KM which equals to approximately 10,560
feet. That will make it safer & more suitable for a large passenger
jet aircraft for day or night flights in hot or cold climate to
operate in Hargeisa airport. Once this is done Egal International
Airport can compete with the East African airports (Insha Allah).
Comparison Hargeisa Airport to the Neighboring airports
Berbera
Runway length 13583 feet =4.14KM
Width 164 feet = 50Meter
Airport Elevation 30 feet above sea level
Hargeisa Airport
Runway length 8005 feet =2.4KM
Width 148 feet = 45Meter
Airport Elevation 4420 feet above sea level
Djibouti
Runway length 10335 feet = 3.1KM
Width 148 feet = 45 METER
Airport Elevation 581 feet above sea level
Addis Ababa
Runway length 12467 feet = 3.8KM
Width 148 feet = 45 METER
Airport Elevation 7656 feet above sea level
Mogadishu
Runway length 10335 feet =3.1KM
Width 150 feet = 46 METER
Airport Elevation 13 feet above sea level
KISMAYO
Runway length 12139 feet = 3.7KM
Width 164 feet = 50 METER
Airport Elevation 49 feet above sea level
Mohamed Ahmed Omar
Captain
Airline Transport Pilot
Certified Flight Instructor Airplane
MOHAMED.OMAR74@outlook.com
|