LIVE UPDATES
The Federal Government has said it will demolish two multibillion-naira private jet terminals/hangars at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
According to the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, this development is to pave the way for the expansion of the new international terminal.
Keyamo, who made the disclosure on Thursday during an inspection of facilities at the airport, said the private jet terminals were obstructing the expansion of the apron size of the new terminal.
The apron is the area where aircraft are parked and loaded.
Keyamo said the old international terminal would be shut down by October 1, 2023, while over 25 foreign airlines operating from the facility would be relocated to the new terminal.
He said the decision was taken in order to provide a better travelling experience for Nigerian passengers.
“We have to find a way to use the new terminal. Like in many other countries, we have to get emergency procurement to buy big buses and move passengers to where the big planes can stop for both arrivals and departures so that Nigerians can have some form of comfort,” Keyamo said.
“The long-term plan is that we are going to find a way to build Avio-bridges for the big aircraft coming in and that means some of those private hangars will have to go for public purpose, we have to relocate them so that we can have a beautiful, functional gateway to Nigeria.”
The two private jet terminals belong to Dominion Air, an arm of Living Faith World Outreach (Winners Chapel), and Evergreen Hangar, owned and operated by a private company.
Keyamo said the demolition of the private jet terminals was necessary to ensure the efficient use of the new international terminal.
“The new terminal has a provision to take big planes, but it doesn’t have the avio-bridges that can link to the big planes. That has been the reason why we have not been using this new terminal,” he said.
“Meanwhile, 60 per cent of the revenue of FAAN comes from the Lagos airport. The Lagos gateway is one of the major gateways in the country. So what is the solution to this? We have said we must use what we have for now. I’m giving the international and all the other airlines up to October 1 to move from the old terminal to the new terminal.”
The minister’s announcement has been met with mixed reactions. Some stakeholders have welcomed the decision, saying it is necessary to improve the efficiency of the airport.
Others have expressed concerns about the impact of the demolition on the private jet operators and the passengers who use the terminals.
The Assistant General Secretary of the Aviation Round Table, Olumide Ohunayo, said he was not a fan of demolition.
“You don’t come in and take decisions like this, I am not a fan of demolition, I mean, a minister like him in the past was the one who failed to follow the master plan, not only in Lagos even in Abuja airport and that’s what has caused this problem,” Ohunayo said.
“We have collected loan to build this terminal and it’s not yielding, we have a duty to recover money and pay those loans and the way to do that is for the terminal to work. Public officers should be made to face the consequences of actions that are inimical to the public.”
A former Military Commandant at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Capt John Ojikutu (retd.), said he did not have a problem with the minister’s decision.
“I don’t have any problem with what the minister has said because everything built on that side shouldn’t have been there. That’s where MMA’s terminal three and four ought to be,” Ojikutu said.
“Will the apron in the new terminal take all the airlines if operations at the old terminal are suspended? For how long would this be? Abuja is not as big as MMA, yet how many buses are operating and it’s not even as big as the international airport in Lagos.”
The demolition of the private jet terminals is expected to begin in the coming weeks.
