Sumaila Ogbaje
(Nan)The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has assured passengers of free trolley and wheel chair services at the new terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, General Manager, FAAN Corporate Affairs, told News Agency of Nigeria this would cater for increased activities as more airlines relocate flight operations to the new terminal.
Yakubu also disclosed that a total of 1,000 trolleys were being expected to add to the existing number on ground.
“Apart from free trolley, we are also bringing in wheel chairs in the next few days, in addition to the ones being provided by the ground handler.
“We are expecting 1,000 trolleys and the Rotary Club of Falomo, also donated 18 wheel chairs for us and we will deploy some to Abuja terminal,” she said.
A traveler, Mr Julius Idegwu, commended the federal government for the completion and opening of the new terminal with the state of the art facilities.
Idegwu said that it was the first time he had experienced high level if comfort in any Nigerian airport, adding that he had always paid to use trolley in Lagos and Abuja airports.
“This is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria, as far as air travel is concerned and I must commend the government for this.
“I also discovered that you don’t have to pay to use trolley here, unlike the old terminal which is highly commendable.
“There is also free Wi-Fi network here and I want to urge FAAN, to ensure that this is maintained and also extend it to other parts of the airport,“ he said.
Also, Mrs Patricia Akuriene, said the new terminal had added glory to Nigerian Airport, urging the authority to maintain the standard.
On the trolley and WiFi services, Akuriene commended FAAN, urging that the same services be extended to the domestic terminal also.
“This is good but I want to urge that attention should not only be on international terminal but the domestic travel also,” she added.
The new terminal, which was inaugurated in December 2018, is equipped with free Wi-Fi with the capacity to process 15 million passengers annually.
It is one of the four terminal projects being funded under the 500 million dollars loan agreement between Nigerian government and Export-Import Bank of China.
The other three airports are: Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, which was inaugurated in October 2018, while those of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano are at various stages of completion.