Effect of Adverse Weather on Air Transport: Port Harcourt International Airport in Focus

Abstract

This work focuses on the effect of adverse weather on air transport in Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa. Among the weather elements considered in this article are, rainfall, cloudage, relative humidity, sunshine duration and intensity, wind speed, temperature and other weather-related variables like thunderstorm, clear air turbulent etc. These conditions are diurnal and temporally checked in the airport. In an attempt to understand the effect of adverse weather on air transport, a questionnaire that covers all stakeholders was designed and administered to the relevant stakeholders. The study among other things observed that adverse weather is a challenge to aviation industry. It causes low visibility, can increase the rate of plane crash and can even lead to damages of plane parts. The study shows that the effect of adverse weather in the study area is seasonal. It was also observed that adverse weather leads to flight delay, diversions and cancellations, which cause passengers to spend more money. Finally, the study discovered that announcement of sudden adverse weather condition triggers health issues among passengers. This work used tables’ graphs and simple % for analysis. This work suggests the installation of latest weather monitoring devices in the airport, construction of paved runway and reliable weather forecast report should be made available to passengers’ days and hours before travelling to minimize flight delay and cancellations.