The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has notified airlines, passengers and all other stakeholders that effective 00:00 on 24th August, 2019, the runway at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu will be closed for major repairs and works on the airfield.
In a statement sent by Henrietta Yakubu, general manager, corporate affairs, FAAN, she said the move is aimed at resolving the existing Safety/Security concerns to flight operations.
Yakubu said a date to reopen the runway will be communicated in due course.
Recalled that few months ago, Hadi Sirika, minister of State, Aviation said the Enugu Airport needed reconstruction to meet its status as an international airport.
Sirika said “The runway is terrible. I have been there three times, seen the governor of the state and told them what to do but nothing has happened. There are a market and an abattoir at the side of the runway and these attract birds. Of recent, Air Peace suffered a bird strike and this affected the airline, thank God there was no major incident.
“At the end of the runway, you have the government establishing a free trade zone at the centre. Enugu is to the East what Kaduna is to the North. When the government wanted to expand the runway to 60 metres long and 71 metres wide, there were few houses there and we were promised that they would be demolished and the owners compensated so we can have the improvement but now they have built more houses. Enugu would have to be closed down; that is the honest truth.”
However, Air Peace, the airkine with most frequency into the airport has commended the federal government for the decision to close the Enugu International Airport in order to allow proper repair and maintenance of the airport runway which is a serious safety concerns.
In a statement sent by the airline, “For the avoidance of doubt, Air Peace is fully and totally in support of this decision. Though the decision will affect the traveling public and, of course, the airline, we place the safety of the flying public, our crew and equipment above any commercial benefits.
“The government should go all out to put everything in place, within the period of the closure, that would make the airport rank among the best international airports in the country. We plead with the Federal Government to make the airport a 24hr flight operations airport by improving the night landing infrastructure.
“We will not fail to thank the Federal Government for the appointment of Capt. Yadudu as the Managing Director of FAAN. His appointment is a testimony to the Federal Government’s resolve to put result driven persons at the helm of its agencies. Air Peace is not alone in this thought. Since his coming, airlines have started enjoying the services that would definitely improve the standards in the industry.”
IFEOMA OKEKE
