The Federal Government is facing a herculean task convincing local and foreign airline operators to temporarily move to the Kaduna Airport.
In an aviation stakeholders meeting convened yesterday, January 5 by the Minister of State for Aviation, Captain Hadi Sirika, the airlines kicked against the Federal Government’s decision to shut down the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for repairs.
They urged the government to review its plan for them to fly into the Kaduna Airport en-route Abuja for the period the Abuja airport will be closed.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Mr Nogie Meggisson said they were not averse to the repair of the runway because of safety considerations, but advised the government to seek alternative ways to undertake the repairs.
His words: “AON on the other side is of the view that the airport should either be repaired at night like what is done in other countries from 6pm to 6am.
“For example, the Gatwick Airport, 85 years later, handles 400,000 passengers yearly. Abuja Airport only handles 40,000 passengers a year. If we have that kind of volume going through Gatwick and it has not been closed, we need to look at it again before we move out of Abuja.
“Alternatively, the runway in Abuja is 3,900 metres. If you split the runway in two, you will get roughly 2,000 metres. We can fix one side for three weeks and come back to the other side with 2,000 metres runway. A Boeing 737 can comfortably get onto it on a one hour flight. A PRJ, a Dash-8 and local carriers can come in.
“The international carriers can go to Lagos and Kano and redistribute from there. That is our own view”.
On his part, Mr Osho Joseph who spoke on behalf of international airline operators, questioned the availability of aviation fuel for airlines in Kaduna, adding that the government should reconsider Kaduna airport as an alternative route for only local airlines.
Responding to the complains, Captain Sirika said that all the concerns raised by the airline operators will betaken into consideration before the government reaches its final decision on the issue.
“What you said is not new to us; we can work at night and achieve results without closing the airport only if the repair is on the surface. That is if you are resurfacing.
“The structure of the runway right through the bottom; all the four levels are dilapidated and completely gone! It opens up without giving you notice.
“We need to do this runway, we will be working for six months without closure day in day out like they do in Gatwick for six months but we will do six weeks of closure to be able in six weeks to attend to the central part of that runway.
“This working at night without the closure of the airport is what we have been doing for 14 years after the lifespan of that runway and we achieved the same result.
“Engineers have looked at it, there were four international consultants that were invited who worked on the runway for three months and came back with the same results,” Sirika said.
The minister also assured passengers of their safety especially on the Kaduna-Abuja expressway, stating that adequate measures are being put in place to ensure a hitch-free passage for them.
Meanwhile, Abuja airport will now be closed on March 8. The airport was earlier scheduled to be closed for six weeks between February and March.