Naoero Gov’t details firefighting flaws, airport safety downgrade

By Andrew Curran.

The Government of Naoero has provided some clarity on an issue affecting fire trucks at the country’s only airport, Yaren (INU), which resulted in the cancellation of most Nauru Airlines flights across July and into early August.

According to the most recent Naoero Bulletin, a technical assessment carried out by firefighting equipment manufacturer Rosenbauer identified defects in the airport’s existing fire trucks, resulting in a downgrade of Yaren’s safety category level which impacted an airline’s ability to safely operate at the airport.

Nauru Airlines is the only scheduled passenger airline regularly flying to the airport.

Yaren Airport temporarily downgraded to a Category 4 airport

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Rescue and Fire Fighting Services categories range from one to 10 and are determined by the overall length and maximum fuselage width of the largest aircraft normally using the airport. Nauru Airlines operates a fleet of B737 aircraft.

The higher an airport is ranked, the greater the mandatory minimum firefighting capacities must be. This is measured across various metrics, including water volume for foam production, complementary agents such as dry chemical powders, vehicle count and total discharge rates.

Typically, Yaren is a Category 7 airport, meaning aircraft up to 48 metres in length can regularly use the airport. Nauru Airlines’ biggest aircraft, a B737-800, is 39.5 metres long. However, after the Rosenbauer assessment, Yaren temporarily dropped to Category 4, capping the size of aircraft that could regularly use the airport at 24 metres in length.

While larger aircraft could continue to use Yaren on an irregular and ad hoc basis, regularly rotating larger aircraft through the airport on a scheduled basis was not allowed. This explains why Nauru Airlines was forced to cancel most of its flights through the airport until early August.

New details build out earlier reports about Yaren's firefighting deficiencies

Previous reports, including those by Aero South Pacific, had identified deficiencies with firefighting equipment at the airport as the reason for the cancellations, but this is the first time the government has publicly referenced the technical assessment as the root cause.

Three dry chemical powder units were airfreighted to Naoero in early August, which saw Yaren upgraded to Category 5 status. This was soon followed by the donation of two fire trucks by the Australian Government. They were ferried in by Royal Australian Air Force C-17s. Given these were irregular flights, this was allowed.

The arrival of the fire trucks, along with firefighting foam and spare parts, allowed Nauru Airlines to start resuming its scheduled services through the airport.

Backup power at the airport has also been upgraded, with a new 250-kilowatt backup generator and automatic transfer switch.

Minister for Transport Reagan Aliklik subsequently told Naoero’s Parliament that Yaren Airport was restored to its normal Category 7 status on August 24. He said that to maintain this status, Yaren must have two firefighting trucks and continue to meet the required minimum levels of water, foam and dry chemical powder.

Photo: Government of Naoero
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com