From: Uche Usim, Abuja
In less than 12 hours to the planned closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, only Ethiopian Airlines out of over 25 international airlines operating in Nigeria, has agreed to fly into Kaduna Airport, the alternate terminal.
This means that passengers destined for Abuja would have to land either in Lagos, Port Harcourt or Kano (depending on the carrier) and then connect Abuja via road, rail or flight.
Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who disclosed this, on Monday, at a press briefing in Abuja said the Federal Government was in talks with other international carriers, especially Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, to urge them to rescind their decisions of shunning Kaduna since its facilities meet international standards.
According to Sirika, “We have calibrated the landing systems in Kaduna. All the open items spotted by international airlines have been closed. We’ve a mobile control tower in Kaduna. We’ve a good runway there. The terminal building and VIP lounge are almost ready. We’ve provided free buses and rail transport for passengers to and from Kaduna. We’re good to go with regards to airport logistics”, he said.
Sirika who briefed the media in company of Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris further revealed that the NAIA runway reconstruction would gulp well over N5 billion.
He assured that the six-week closure will not be exceeded, urging the public to see the inconveniences as temporary.
In his remarks at the event, the IGP, Ibrahim Idris said security arrangements have been perfected to guarantee the safety and security of travelers.
He assured that other parts of the country would not be starved of policemen.
“We’re set for the closure. We’ve all our men drawn from various units. We’ll give the necessary cover for this operation. We only urge Nigerians to cooperate with us”, he said.