The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday, witnessed an upsurge in passenger traffic and flight operations on many domestic routes as many people traveled for Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.
When correspondents visited the airport between 10 a.m and 11 a.m, Air Peace, Arik, Aero Contractors and Max Air were seen processing passengers for different routes.
At the boarding gate on Terminal D, a large number of travelers were seen queuing up to board Aero flights to Lagos and Asaba.
In Terminal B, activities also peaked at Arik and Max counters where many passengers were being processed for boarding.
An Airport official, who pleaded anonymity, said that many airlines were fully booked and that traffic was heavier in the early morning flights.
He said that the fare slash announced by Arik and Aero to encourage voters also encouraged many passengers to book their flights, accounting for the traffic upsurge.
According to him, today is the peak of the traffic because of the public holiday on Friday and as such, there is heavy traffic early this morning.
Meanwhile, the Station Manager, Max Air, Mr Abdullahi Saroke, said the traffic was less compared to the previous week before the election was postponed.
Saroke said that the airline had full flights to the northern routes like Kano, Yola and Maiduguri, adding that other routes had been recording low passenger turnout.
He said that Max Air, unlike Arik and Aero, did not slash its ticket prices because of the election, as it has one of the lowest fares among the domestic airlines.
“We are not having much passengers today compared to what it was last week before the election was postponed.
“Our northern routes such as Kano, Yola and Maiduguri are the most patronised today while other routes like Lagos and Port Harcourt are not doing too well today.
“I think it’s because many people who traveled last week didn’t come back after the postponement,” he said.
A staff of Arik who pleaded anonymity said that the passenger turnout was not as expected in spite of the reduction in fares to N16, 000 on all routes.
He said that the airline did not record full flight on all its routes.
A passenger, Michael Audu, said he was traveling to Yola to vote, and appealed to every eligible voter to ensure that they vote.
Audu urged the government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a free, fair and peaceful poll.
He said that politicians had the duty to ensure the success of the elections.
He also encouraged Nigerians to come out massively to vote during the elections.
“My advice to INEC and politicians is that both have the responsibility of ensuring that the elections are free, fair and peaceful,” he said.
The Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Saleh Dunoma, says the newly inaugurated international terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, was designed give maximum comfort to air travelers.
Dunoma, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Abuja.
He explained that the facility provided in the new terminal would ensure speedy processing of passengers with a lot of ease.
He assured that both the airlines and passengers would experience a great difference compared to what they were used to in the old terminal in terms of space and passengers’ processing equipment.
According to him, FAAN is committed to meeting the needs arising from the expected increase in the number of passengers and aircraft movement by proving adequate manpower.
“You have gone through that terminal a number of times and you have seen the level of comfort apart from speedy processes because of the number of facilities that are provided.
“We expect that each and every passenger will see the difference in terms of facilitation and comfort and also the speed at which we will be processing passengers.
“The expectation is that it will take only very few minutes for you to go through either departure or arrival process.
“We are not going to shut down any part of the airport, it is going to be a combined effort.
“The old terminal will handle the domestic and sub-regional operations while the new terminal will handle international operations.
“We have plans to improve the standard of the existing terminal because as soon as the international operations move to the new terminal, we will have more space to commence work on the old terminal,’’ he said.
Dunoma disclosed that international airlines might not move into the new facility immediately, saying the airlines were waiting for the terminal to be inaugurated before they could start planning their operations there.
According to him, they need a little time to plan their operations and their passengers also need to be informed so that they don’t create confusion.
“So any airline that is ready, will move in to process the passengers that are in there so that we don’t create confusion,’’ he added.
The managing director also disclosed that work was in progress in the remaining two terminals in Lagos and Kano, adding that the unpaid counterpart funding was available to enable the contractor to perform.
The former Regional General Manager, North Central, FAAN, Mr. Chris Bature, who was the pioneer supervising airport manager of the project, commended the Federal Government for its completion.
Bature said with the intermodal connectivity of the terminal by rail, the government had been able to demonstrate a strong commitment toward developing modern transport infrastructure in the county.
He said the airport had recorded great improvement compared to what was on ground before he left in 2014 in terms of expansion and increase in capacity.
According to him, there were some challenges that were there and they bother mainly on facilitation of passengers.
“Now the new terminal has been completed, the capacity of the old terminal has increased and this has enabled them to handle more passengers and give room for more people,’’ he said.
NAN
Normal activities have resumed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after it was closed for the repair of its runway about six weeks ago. The first test flight since the closure was recorded on Tuesday morning.
According to Aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, there was also an upgrade on the facilities at the airport.
The Kaduna International airport was named an alternative following the closure.
See below the new look of the Abuja airport:
A Nigerian Police aircraft has become the first airliner to land at the just reopened Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja (NAIA). The small jet landed at NAIA runway 04 at about 11:15am, on Tuesday, from Kaduna Airport.
On board was the Minister of State Aviation, Hadi Sirika and other government officials.
The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Usman Mukhtar and his Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) counterpart, Saleh Dunoma certified and declared the airport fit for operation.
An Ethiopian Airlines Airbus A350 XWB is expected to land any moment from now.
While speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, to formally announce the closure of Abuja Airport beginning on Wednesday, the Minister of State for Transportation who is in charge of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, explained the logistics arrangements put in place for persons travelling by air from or out of Abuja.
The minister also revealed that the use of Kaduna Airport is the alternative, adding that all travelers from Abuja will head to the Abuja Airport and not Kaduna directly.
“Passengers will file themselves into Abuja Airport as if they are travelling from Abuja, after which they will be screened, including their baggage and they will be put on the buses and they will be transported direct to the Airport in Kaduna,” he said.
According to Premium Times, Sirika said special buses made available for ferrying passengers will be escorted by armed policemen “in front and behind”, adding that passengers are not to pay for the bus fare, or similar cost on train.
The Minister also said while in the buses “there will be helicopter patrol over the expressway to the airport and at every five kilometer going there will be armed policemen stationed”, adding that while in Kaduna, passengers will again be screened “in case of contamination and then they will board on their flight”.
The Aviation Minister said passengers heading to Abuja from various destinations will be given “a single form of three lines stating their preferred choice of getting to Abuja; either by bus or train or private arrangement,” he said.
He said special marshals are stationed at Kaduna Airport who will have placards indicating train, bus or private arrangement.
“Passengers are expected to follow flagged marshals from the arrival hall who will take them to buses that will take them either to train station Abuja. They will also show those with private arrangement where the private car park is.”
The Minister said once in Abuja passengers will pick their baggage” and find their way.
As the Abuja Airport closed at Midnight on Tuesday, here are ten important info. you should know:
1. Air traffic to Abuja are to be diverted to the Kaduna Airport from Wednesday, following the closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at midnight, for six weeks.
2. The closure of the Abuja Airport is to pave the way for the rehabilitation of its runway, which is for the safety of all.
3.The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, said, rail lines,air and ground surveillance by the Police, as well as Military air cover will be provided by the Nigerian Air Force
4. The Police Air wing would provide helicopter surveillance that would cover Kaduna Airport and the Kaduna- Abuja Road.
5.The IG said sniffer dogs would also be part of the security architecture, which would see police escorts accompanying travellers from Kaduna to Abuja.
6. Security check points would be set up at every 5 kilometre stretch of the road, while travellers will also be screened.
7. Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said Government had concluded arrangement to provide arrangements to provide free train transportation service for Abuja-bound passengers to and from Kaduna.
The train services would be rearranged to suit the flight schedules at Kaduna Airport, adding that the trains would be coming from Kaduna instead of the current arrangement.
8. Over N5 billion would be expended on the rinway rehabilitation at Abuja, and airport users should visit (www.abujaairportclosure.info) for updates on the operations at Kaduna Airport during the period.
9. Commencing 8 March, 2017, Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited will operate a daily flight from Lagos to Minna Airport utilising Embraer 135 aircraft with 37 seating capacity.
10. From the Minna Airport, Bristow will provide helicopter shuttle services to the VIP wing of the Abuja Airport. Two Bristow heicopters, a Sikorsky S-92 ans S-76, with the capacity to fly 19 and 12 passengers, respectively, will provide shuttle services between Minna and Abuja airport.
The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has officially announced the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, beginning from 12 a.m. on Wednesday, March 8, 2017..
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, made the revelation at a world press conference on Monday in Abuja, saying that the airport will be closed for six weeks.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who also spoke at the press briefing, said the government has kept its promise to make Kaduna Airport ready for use as alternative.
Also, the Minister of State in charge of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said observations made by acting President Yemi Osinbajo who was in Kaduna Airport on Friday had been “taken care of”.
He said the government has set up a website: www.abujaairportclosure.info, through which information will be shared with Nigerians.
So far, only one international airline has agreed to use Kaduna airport, Sirika said.
After much hues and cries, all appears set for traffic diversion to Kaduna airport beginning from Wednesday, when the runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, closes for the much-awaited reconstruction.
Our source learnt that government agencies have fully deployed and installed relevant equipments to receive Abuja-bound domestic and international carriers. Similarly, logistic services for ground handling services and 240km road travel to Abuja and its environs have been organised to cater for the passengers.
The readiness, including security arrangement, is to douses tension among air travellers and other stakeholders that are worried about the inconvenience that will be attendant of the diversion.
Recall that the 4000metres-long Abuja runway has been in bad shape in the last couple of months and was in December 2016 penciled for repair by the Federal Government.
While the repair work would last for at least six weeks, air traffic will be diverted to Kaduna airport, from where buses will take passengers back to Abuja in two-hour road journey.
Except Ethiopian Airways that has pledged to divert Abuja-bound flights to Kaduna Airport, other international airlines have declined the Kaduna option. While some of the airlines have informed customers of the plan to suspend operations from March 8 to April 19, others have opted for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, expressing concern over security issues in Kaduna.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), saddled with the management of the airport among others across the country, said all was set for smooth operations in the northern state.
Kaduna airport manager, Amina Ozi-Salami, during an on-site inspection, said the airport was ready to handle the expected traffic upsurge as soon as NAIA is closed.
Ozi-Salami said the runway was in perfect condition while the capacity of the airport had been enhanced to accommodate any type of aircraft. She added that the lighting of the runway had been completed during the week as well as enhanced manpower to meet the operational needs during the six weeks period.
In its bid to ensure accuracy, reliability and efficiency of facilities at the Kaduna airport, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has also rounded off the routine calibration of the Very High Omnidirectional Radio Range/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME) and the flight commissioning of the Instrument Landing System/Distance Measuring Equipment (ILS/DME).
The component parts of the facilities, which include Two VOR transmitters, two DMEs co-located with the VORs, two localizer transmitters, two glideslope transmitters and two DMEs co-located with the glideslope all passed the flight calibration test.
The flight calibration was handled by Omni-Blue Aviation Ltd along with their technical partners (FCSL of United Kingdom) in collaboration with NAMA engineers who carried out the installation, alignment and parameter adjustment during the exercise.
According to the Calibration Manager, Engr. Akeem Ogunmola, the flight exercise which started from Kaduna will extend to Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Bauchi.
In Bauchi, Ogunmola, said the calibration team would be commissioning three systems which include ILS/DME, VOR/DME and Non-directional beacon. Also to be calibrated are facilities in the Port Harcourt and Lagos international airports.
Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services, Engr. Farouk Umar, who led the NAMA team of engineers in the installation of the facilities in Kaduna, described the calibration exercise as very successful, saying “Kaduna airport is on full components of navigational aids, functioning at optimal levels.
“We can gladly report that Kaduna airport can now safely land aircraft even in critical weather conditions as far as Navaids are concerned,” he said.
In a related development, Conoil has announced its readiness to beef-up its Kaduna aviation office to reinforce its operations during the Abuju runway repairs.
The oil marketer, in a statement, said the relocation would involve the movement of its high-tech bowsers, dispensers and human capital from Abuja to reinforce its Kaduna operations. This, the company believes, will ensure that the operations of airlines continue to run smoothly while travellers go about their journeys in a seamless manner.
“The decision by the Federal Government to repair the runway is commendable. Safety in the aviation industry cannot be compromised. The move is in tandem with Conoil’s commitment to strict safety standards in all areas of its operations”, the statement read in part.
The marketer, therefore, called on airline operators and travelers for their understanding and co-operation, adding that though it may be a bit inconvenient, it will serve the general good in the long run.
Source
The Guardian
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