The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has purchased luxury buses to transport international passengers from aircraft to the newly constructed Chinese terminal at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
Over the weekend, it was learned that FAAN provided five buses to transport passengers to their aircrafts.
According to a normally reliable source who was not entitled to speak on the matter, the procurement of the bus less than two weeks after the minister’s visit demonstrated his commitment to reshaping the sector.
“In an effort to address the migration challenges caused by the loss of aviobridges, FAAN has launched a new set of luxury buses to transport arriving passengers from the aircraft to the terminal.” This demonstrates the new Minister’s continued determination to confront the sector’s difficulties head on,” the source said.
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According to reports, the minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, gave a deadline of October 1, 2023 for all foreign airlines to relocate from the old terminal to the newly built Chinese terminal on August 31, 2023, but FAAN management had to fast track the implementation of the minister’s directive in response to the recent fire outbreak, which raised safety concerns and affected passenger movements.
During his first visit and tour of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, the minister shifted all foreign airlines to the newly built Chinese terminal, claiming that the new terminal had been underutilised since it could not accommodate wide-bodied aircraft.
He also stated that the old international terminal at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos would be closed for renovations by October 1st, 2023, and that all private hangars such as the Dominion hangar, EAN hangar, and others would be relocated to make way for the expansion of the new terminal.
During the tour, he stated that “the major complaints have been with the old terminal.” Nigerians passing through see it as an eyesore. The lifts are broken, the passage is unpleasant, and there is no air conditioning. We have a new terminal, however it is not operational. It was not intended to accommodate large planes.
“I don’t know what happened, and I’ve been asking why they don’t have aviobridges that lead to the big planes.” The Lagos airport accounts for 60% of FAAN’s revenue. Aside from that, Lagos International Airport serves as the country’s gateway and initial impression.”
The minister stated that both international and domestic airlines have until October 1st to relocate from the old terminal to the new one, and that the government will temporarily down the old terminal to resolve all issues related to the old terminal, such as concession agreements.
“You can see that the complaints of foreigners and Nigerians coming into Nigeria have been with the old terminal, which is an eyesore, and things are not working there, but we have this new terminal that the Chinese built,” he said.
“Nigerians are wondering why this new terminal is not being used. The simple reason is that this international Gateway terminal was created without a provision for large jets, with no avio-bridges to connect the large planes. Meanwhile, the Lagos airport generates 60% of FAAN revenue.
“We are going to shut down the old terminal and sort out all of the issues with the terminal’s renovation, there are issues with concessions and all of that for now, I have suspended all of that, including the Nigeria Air issue.” I’ve directed that everything be put on hold until I can brief Mr. President on what’s going on with all of this hubbub. The duty I owe the President is to honestly and rightly advise him and I am looking at all the agreements and everything that was signed to correctly inform him, I owe my total loyalty to Nigerians.”
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He did, however, reveal that the government would purchase buses to transport foreign passengers to and from the new terminal until the new terminals’ flaws were fixed, allowing wide-bodied international airlines to operate.
“For the time being, the temporary arrangements we have are that we must find a way to use the new terminal for the comfort of Nigerians.” We need to acquire emergency procurement to buy big buses and convey passengers to where the big planes can halt for both arrivals and departures, much like in many other nations, so Nigerians may have some type of comfort.”
