Professional Assessment of Aviation Weather Service Delivery at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja

Aviation weather services are safety-critical functions governed by strict international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and their operational quality at major Nigerian airports demands systematic professional review. This study presents a professional assessment of aviation weather service delivery at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, applying a comprehensive audit framework adapted from ICAO Annex 3 standards to evaluate the quality of Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts, METAR observations, and SIGMET products issued by the NiMet aeronautical meteorological station. Data sources include a sample of 1,200 TAF and METAR reports from 2022 to 2023, pilot and flight dispatcher feedback surveys involving 45 respondents, and structured interviews with NiMet meteorological officers. Verification of TAF forecast accuracy against observed METAR reports reveals an overall consistency index of 74 percent for wind speed and direction and 68 percent for thunderstorm occurrence forecasts. Delays attributable to weather-related events account for 11 percent of all departure delays recorded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority over the study period. A critical finding is that the ceilometer and automated weather observing system at the airport experience an uptime of only 87 percent, compromising the quality of automated METAR reports. Recommendations include procurement of a redundant automated weather observing system and implementation of a quality management system for TAF issuance. Keywords: aviation weather, TAF, METAR, Abuja, ICAO.